For years, the dance between Citi Bike, which is owned and operated by Lyft, and the City has remained the same—Lyft wants money from the City to help subsidize the program, while the City maintains that the whole point of an investor-owned company running the program is that the City shouldn't have to spend a dime. Without dedicated funding (or the City just outright purchasing the system), Lyft has limited the expansion of Citi Bike—it doesn't cover nearly enough of the city, and remains far more expensive than taking the subway—even as it grows in popularity. And despite a campaign pledge from Eric Adams to begin actually funding the program, this year's budget saw no such investment.
If Lyft isn't going to get those funds from the City, they've found a way to get the money elsewhere: from Citi Bike riders.
On Wednesday, and right in time for the Fourth of July, Lyft announced that prices for its incredibly popular e-bikes would be going up by 20 percent starting July 10. A Lyft spokesperson explained to Hell Gate that because of the massive popularity of the company's e-bikes, which now amount to half of its fleet, costs for Lyft have gone up. That includes paying the veritable army of people to swap out the batteries for the bikes, the costs of all the vehicles needed to ferry those batteries around, and higher insurance prices.
This latest hike comes on the heels of a similar price increase last fall, when Lyft cut a deal with City Hall that allowed the company to raise its prices in exchange for expanding its e-bike fleet and lowering their speeds. Since then, issues with the e-bikes related to maintenance and availability have mostly been solved. The e-bikes continue to remain extremely popular, and the demand for pedal-powered bikes has remained mostly flat, according to Lyft.
A spokesperson for Lyft said that things like public subsidies for the program and a speedier rollout of charging infrastructure could help stave off price hikes like this one. The Department of Transportation referred Hell Gate to Lyft for comment.
One possible solution for the increased charging needs would be stations that charged the bikes themselves—something the City committed to piloting in the agreement last fall. Lyft says if it can get 20 percent of the system's docks connected to the grid, it could remove the need for all the battery swapping and increased costs. But so far, there are only two pilot charging stations.
In the absence of all of that, riders will now pay more. Today, if you're a Citi Bike member, which means you're already paying $219.99/year, and want to take a 20-minute e-bike trip, that ride would cost you $4. But starting July 10, that will cost you $4.80. According to the agreement the company hashed out with the City, however, this isn't even the most that Lyft can raise its prices this year—it could raise its rates another 20 percent. After this year, the price increases would be capped around 5 percent, depending on the prior year's inflation rate.
So with the City not budging, and an investor-owned company demanding profits, who gets screwed for making a public transportation system too popular? Naturally, the riders. Happy Independence Day!
