Lyft increased the price of its Citi Bike on Monday. This was just as they were about to defeat the congestion pricing they had been lobbying for.
The bike rental service has decided to raise its prices again, less than six months after parent company Lyft slapped a 20% price increase on customers.
The pinch comes a day after the MTA and Gov. Cathy Hochul introduced congestion pricing in Manhattan, making it cost Big Apple commuters $9 to drive below 60th Street.
Lyft and Uber are reportedly pushing hard for higher tolls and stand to be big winners, spending millions of dollars lobbying city and state officials to approve the controversial plan. I spent a lot of money on it.
City Bike has increased the number of electric bikes 24 to 25 cents per minute Pricing was revised for members on Monday, increasing the cap to $5 for e-bike rides to and from Manhattan for trips of 45 minutes or less (all other e-bike rides are now subject to a $5 fee, the company said). (currently 25 cents per minute with no upper limit).
Single-ride passes for non-members increased from $4.79 to $4.99, and e-bike rates increased from 36 cents per minute to 38 cents.
Single-day passes for non-members will also increase in price to $25 starting February 3rd.
Monday's price hike marks the fourth consecutive year that Citi Bike fares have increased.
The company cited inflation and costs associated with e-bikes as reasons for the Citi Bike price increase. Gothamist reported. This was the same rationale the company used in response to the July price hike.
Lyft also announced a $1.50 “congestion fee credit” for each CitiBike or rideshare ride that will affect usage for Manhattan commuters for the remainder of this month. This would offset the $1.50 congestion toll surcharge the measure imposes on ride-sharing apps like Lyft.
Citi Bike Services, which provides more than 30,000 bikes in the city and New Jersey, also plans to expand to new areas in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn next fall.
Citi Bike logged more than 45 million rides in 2024, the outlet reported based on data shared with Lyft. This is a 25% increase from 36 million rides in 2023.
But some riders are already fed up with the summer price hikes and told the Post they are considering buying their own bikes instead.
“I don't really like riding trains, so I use Citi Bike, but I think it's more affordable to buy my own bike at this point,” said Travonte Gorman at a charging bank in Manhattan. Ta.
“If the growth continues, these rides will equate to two or three trips,” he added.
Lyft did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
The news also comes weeks after the MTA board passed a budget that increased subway and bus fares from $2.90 to about $3.
