Transportation Alternatives Condemns Mayor de Blasio’s Forced Shutdown of Citi Bike

Citi Bike is a lifeline for New Yorkers, says Transportation Alternatives’ Executive Director Danny Harris

Statement of Transportation Alternatives' Executive Director Danny Harris:

“Mayor de Blasio’s decision to force the nightly shutdown of New York City’s bike share system in the middle of a pandemic is unacceptable. Cutting access to Citi Bike at 6 pm strands New Yorkers, including essential workers, who rely on this critical service for their transportation needs. 

Notably, since the start of the pandemic, healthcare workers have been relying heavily on cycling -- and Citi Bike especially -- as an alternative form of transportation safe from the transmission risk of indoor subways, buses, and ferries. But the bike boom is not limited to doctors and nurses. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, New Yorkers are increasingly choosing cycling. Cycling on the East River bridges is up more than 50 percent. Further evidence can be found in booming bike sales, but also in the outsize use of the bike share system, which Mayor de Blasio has just cut New Yorker’s access to, with Citi Bike ridership up 67 percent. 

We call on Mayor de Blasio to end this unnecessary shutdown immediately and ensure that New Yorkers have continued and unfettered access to Citi Bike, which tens of thousands of New Yorkers rely on daily."