Citi Bike will get $100M from Lyft for ‘dramatic’ expansion

The move comes after Lyft officially acquired Motivate, Citi Bike's parent company

Five years after Citi Bike launched—and just a few months after Lyft announced it would acquire Motivate, the bike-share program's parent company—it's getting a major expansion that will dramatically increase its footprint within the city.

The De Blasio administration and the DOT announced today that Lyft will invest $100 million into Citi Bike, giving the program the ability to double its area of coverage, triple the amount of bikes on streets, and codify and expand its discounted memberships for low-income New Yorkers. The expansion will also include more pedal-assist bikes, which have proven very popular since they were rolled out over the summer, as well as 12 new valet stations.

"As a safe, sustainable, and affordable way to get around, cycling in New York City is growing faster than any other mode of travel," DOT commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement. "And with today's announcement, riding a Citi Bike will be an even more convenient way to get to a vastly larger share of the City."

Unlike, say, NYC Ferry service, Citi Bike doesn't receive any public subsidies, and must rely on private funding (including what it makes from annual memberships, which now total more than 146,000). The $100 million cash infusion from Lyft will go towards "capital expenditures"—which means both immediate fixes, like getting more bikes on streets, as well as long-term improvements, including expanding the program's geographic area by 35 miles in the next few years.

As of right now, where the new bikes will go has yet to be determined; the DOT and Citi Bike will hold public meetings soon to get feedback on potential new locations within the boroughs.

Soon @NYC_DOT will begin the important work of meeting w/ communities across the city & discussing how we can best serve NYers in new neighborhoods.

Thanks to everyone who helped us pedal to 70 million all-time rides. We can't wait for the exciting next chapter of Citi Bike pic.twitter.com/JV9bPVdXDd

— Citi Bike (@CitiBikeNYC) November 29, 2018

The acquisition of Motivate also gives Lyft exclusive domain over the city's bike-share system, although a press release notes that the city may still conduct its own pilot programs of "dockless bike share services outside of the expanded Citi Bike service area"—a fine point, but one that may prove important as the city winds down its initial dockless bike-share pilot (which includes operators like the Uber-backed Jump, and Lime Bike). That program is still underway in areas not currently served by Citi Bike, including the Bronx and Staten Island.

The Citi Bike announcement comes on the heels of the City Council introducing a set of bills that aim to legalize electric scooters and throttle e-bikes in the city; while City Hall has cheered the roll-out of pedal-assist bikes, it may be tougher to convince Mayor Bill de Blasio that throttle bikes are as viable of a transportation option.