Citi Bike cruising through DUMBO, Brooklyn. Photo Credit: Lars Klove/NYC Bike Share.

Getting around New York City just got a bit easier. You’ve probably seen or even taken advantage of Citi Bike‘s bright blue wheels gliding down the streets or docked at attention, waiting for riders. OTPYM sat down with NYC Bike Share, operator of Citi Bike, to get the scoop on the newest way to get around the city. While Miami, FL and Boulder, CO predated New York City’s launch of the European bike share phenomenon, New York quickly became the largest bike sharing program in the country just 3 months after it’s May 2013 launch.

“Bike share has more than doubled in the U.S. in the past year, thanks in large part to Citi Bike in New York, Divvy in Chicago and most recently the Bay Area Bicycle Share,” says Mia Birk, Vice President of Alta Bicycle Share, the parent company of NYC Bike Share. “These systems serve the locals, but also provide a unique new way for tourists to see these incredible cities.”

A bit of waterfront “Citi” biking. Photo Credit: Lars Klove/NYC Bike Share.

As an effort to green the city and create a sustainable means of transport, NYC Bike Share teamed up with CitiBank who contributed 41 million dollars to fund the program. MasterCard contributed another 6.5 million dollars. Major sponsorship is just one sign the program is more than just a trend.

For a $100 yearly fee, New Yorkers have unlimited usage and a 45-minute biking window before needing to dock their bikes at one of the 332 stations around the city. Just enough time to get to the office! Tourists and infrequent users can pay as you go at each station and have a 30-minute biking window.

A full dock of Citi Bikes. Photo Credit: Colin Glaum.

The project suffered a set-back in November 2012, thanks to Superstorm Sandy which damaged some of the program’s equipment and decreased the number of bikes at launch, but NYC Bike Share is marching forward and working on bringing out 1000 new bikes to add to the 6000 already available. The golden rule is twice as many docks as bikes and the program is monitoring usage flow to better cater to bikers. Expansion plans are in the works for Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens. Secondary expansion areas include the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, then Park Slope.

A map of docking stations in Manhattan. Photo Credit: Apple.com.

GOOD TO KNOW:

– The Citi Bike App is a must-have for instant access to bike and dock availability.

– Citi Bike has teamed up with shop Bike and Roll, which has 12 NYC locations, to offer helmet rentals at $3/day. Annual members get a $10 coupon.

– Those broken bikes won’t last long; an army of fixers scour the city every day and perform repairs on site for quick turnaround.

OTPYM Founder, Michaela Guzy, spotted biking around town.