The NYC Bike Share program launches this summer

The New York City Bike Share program is rolling out late this month, with approximately 50 stations to be installed south of Canal Street. Starting on or soon after July 23rd, the Citi Bike program will install the bike stations on streets, sidewalks and plazas around Lower Manhattan, in accordance with the draft station map unveiled this spring by the city Department of Transportation (DOT).

Each station is an automated, solar-powered stand holding between 15 and 60 bicycles. Station installation requires crews to lift a base plate and freestanding station -- which measures up to 80 feet long and six feet wide -- using a small crane. The operation takes about one hour.

All bicycles will be equipped with a bell, and always-on front and rear lights (powered by pedaling), fenders, adjustable seats, and front rack with elastic cables. The bikes will show a safety message encouraging helmet use (riders are advised to provide their own, or call 311 to find upcoming DOT helmet giveaways). Safety guidelines also will caution riders to yield to pedestrians, avoid riding on sidewalks, ride in the direction of vehicular trafc, and obey all trafc signs and signals.

There will be three pricing options for the Citi Bike program, which is available to everyone age 16 and older. Annual membership is available for $95; a seven-day pass will cost $25; and a 24-hour pass will cost $9.95. With annual membership, a bike can be used for up to 45 minutes, after which modest, graduated overtime fees will be charged to the members credit card. Day and week passes allow riders to use bikes for up to 30 minutes, with slightly higher overtime fees. (Read more here.)

The program's initial rollout officially begins in areas of Manhattan, northern Brooklyn, and western Queens starting in July and continuing through October 2012. South of 23rd Street, the program will offer about 2,300 bicycles via 150 stations, each around three blocks apart. Additional stations will be installed in more neighborhoods starting in spring 2013.

The bikes themselves are built to be extremely stable, not capable of high speeds, and routinely maintained by professional mechanics. Bike share systems in London, Montreal, Minneapolis, and other places also successfully use the same bike and station equipment that New York will.

The DOT states that cycling has never been safer in New York City. Since 2007, DOT bike counts on key routes have more than doubled, while cycling injuries and fatalities have fallen or remained flat. Overall, the risk of injury to cyclists in New York City has decreased by 75 percent since 2000. The city has added over 270 miles of bike lanes in the city since 2006, making the streets much safer for cyclists.

The Citi Bike program is funded by sponsorship agreements between the city and Alta Bicycle Share, which also runs the systems in Boston and Washington. Once the New York system launches, revenues from users also will fund the program, including its equipment and operations. The program is not receiving any taxpayer or federal-aid dollars to establish and run the bike share system -- in fact, the city expects that the system will make money, and the city and Alta will split all profits.

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