an abandoned citi bike
when a citi bike falls, and there's nobody around, does it ever really crash or even make a sound?
when i fixate on something i really fixate on it. i have about four things i think about in rotation: menstruation huts, random origins of language, body odor in the victorian era, and what happens when you abandon a citi bike. today we’re talking about the bikes.
i’ve only ever ridden a citi bike two times. the first time i gave up after two blocks because it felt like i was riding through peanut butter (out of shape). the second time i quit about six minutes into riding it because a piece of plastic got stuck in the spoke and i went flying. i landed in some street water that smelled like a barn and scraped the fuck out of my knee. thankfully there was a woman with a fanny pack who had a first aid kit who saw it all go down. she saved me. i walked that bike over to the nearest docking station and i won’t touch one ever again. not even to pick one up.
in all my time living in brooklyn, i have seen many an abandoned citi bike. i see them on the sidewalk, on the street, subway platforms, one specific bike rest on my block. anywhere you can leave a bike i’ve seen one. every time i do, the first thing i think is “?? who the fuck is paying for that ?? is it still charging by the hour ??” sometimes i’ll see the same bike left for days in the same spot. is the person riding the bike the one still paying for it? i had to look into it, and i wanted to collect images of some because i think it’s funny.
citi bikes launched in may of 2013 and new yorkers “can’t live without” them. so what happens if you lose the one you’ve paid for, or if it gets stolen? according to citi bike’s website, there’s a $1,200 charge once you exceed 24 hours (plus tax). $1,200 plus tax??? there’s no way that the regular degular bikes cost that much. the electric ones, however, sure. i truly for the life of me cannot find the actual physical cost of a citi bike available online1.
it’s very unlikely that they would’ve made $1,200 in a day in rides for just one bike. in citi bike’s august 2023 report, there were 127,577.0 rides in the month of august, with each bike used about 2.79 times a day. they reported the average trip lasts about 14 minutes and 38 seconds, each single ride costing $4.49 to unlock the bike without a membership, with an added $0.26 a minute after 30 minute. without the single ride option it’s still $0.26 per minute. so if my math is mathing then that shit ain’t worth $1,200 for lost wages. let’s round up: looking at one bike, if a ride is roughly 15 minutes and is ridden three times that day, that bike only made about $40 after taxes and fees. now let’s round up up: an above the monthly average of five riders did take it for a spin for, let’s say, 45 minutes each. with the added $0.26 a minute, the bike only makes (after tax and fees) an additional $10 for each rider. this would mean that bike earned, what, a total of $30 more for that day? one bike would need to be ridden at least 75 times a day for about an hour (on top of the 30 minute minimum time) for it to accumulate to $1,200 plus tax. not only is there simply not enough time in the day for all of that, but the wear and tear of that many rides would require much more maintenance on citi bike’s end. the fee itself must be to cover the cost of a missing bike, not the actual rates the individual bikes earn. citi bikes have their own manufacturer who they receive the bikes from, so suffice it to say they’re not paying the retail value, but you will if you lose it.
i see people park it for a sec with the utmost confidence. little do they know! also, those bikes are hard as fuck to dock. what if you do it wrong? it’s your fault and someone gets to ride on your dollar. if this happens you’re supposed to call lift or the police and file a report, and in some cases that means you can evade the fee, but this isn’t actually something you’re notified of until you see the bank charge or if you receive a notification from lyft or citi bike. but don’t worry! it’s illegal to ride a stolen citi bike, with the GPS and RFID units recorded for every trip. that can’t be too hard to be caught for, right?
now, if someone breaks a citi bike they’re just charged the cost of repair. if you find a stolen and or lost citi bike you’re supposed to call customer support to let them know asap. under no circumstances are you to purchase a stolen citi bike, which, if it’s for sale you can assume it’s stolen? who the hell is selling a citi bike? who the hell wants to buy a citi bike? just ride them, girl, you don’t need to own everything! consumerism is crazy.
citi bikes are not the only bikes getting stolen. 15,000 bikes are reported stolen every year in new york city. odds are there are even more that aren’t reported. the estimate is 75,000 bikes a year. after covid, the number of bikes stolen went up 27%. most likely because people were too nervous about being exposed to the virus on public transportation. now, i imagine people are stealing bikes of all kinds because mta fares have been rising far too fast too soon (imo). why pay $2.90 to wait on the platform, get stuck in the tunnels, or ride flooded busses, when you can steal a bike for free? sounds like a no brainer to me2.
citi bikes and personal bikes will likely continue to be stolen until the public transportation issues are finally remedied. for more information regarding modernizing the subway system in nyc, click here.
it’s new york city! you can do anything: steal a citi bike, kiss a rat, donate (sell) plasma for money, see a gorgeous subway monster, go to my monthly reading series, the options are endless.3
i called citi bike and asked for more information, they’re going to send me an email with the rates and i’ll update when i get them.
i haven’t and wouldn’t steal a bike because, obviously, i don’t know how to ride one.
that was literally just a sentence to plug all the shit i’ve written/am doing.
i love living in new york city and love everything the city has to offer- it just needs fixing.
two things can be true! it’s important to remain critical of the things you love!!