As reported in Gothamist , New York City’s massive new bike share program, Citi Bikes, is inching ever closer to its July debut. To that end, the city just announced not only the name of the program’s $41 million sponsor (Citibank) but also the program’s official name (CitiBike, of course) and, most important of all, the exact pricing for the program. And if you were thinking of joining up in order to go on bicycle weekend trips to City Island…sounds like you’ll be better off just buying your own bike. When they say these bikes are meant for short three miles-ish trips, they mean it—the system gives members unlimited free rides for short trips, but the pricing skyrockets as sand falls through the hourglass.
Despite the skepticism, it must be said that similar systems have succeeded in cities as diverse as London, Montreal, Washington D.C., Paris, Milan and Helsinki.
Demonstrations of the system begin this week so if you’re in New York now is your chance to get on your bike.

Stockholm

Helsinki

Montreal

New York