Lyft extends the Citi Bike to New York and Uber is not too happy

American bike-share is more and more – and become much more controversial. Lyft announced Thursday that it has finalized the acquisition of Motivate, the largest self-service bicycle operator in North America, after announcing the deal in July. Motivate operates the Bay Area's Ford GoBike, Chicago Divvy, Washington, DC's Capital Bikeshare, New York City's Citi Bike and five other US systems.

Citi Bike is already the largest bike sharing system in the country and, under Lyft ownership, is about to expand. In an announcement with New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, Mr. Lyft announced that he would inject $ 100 million into the system, expanding its reach into low-income peripheral neighborhoods (and often neglected), thus doubling its geographical footprint and tripling its number of bicycles. 40,000 over the next five years.

"We're expanding to other areas outside of Manhattan to achieve the equity goals of the system," says Caroline Samponaro, Lyft's bike, scooter and pedestrian policy manager. The company said it would devote its money not only to expanding the bike sharing infrastructure, but also to building relationships with low-income communities to promote the business. use of the bike and facilitate its use.

This responds to a common criticism of these programs, namely that they address the rich pbadengers of the city center. Twenty-four per cent of US bike sharing schemes have implemented income-based subsidy programs, including Citi Bike. But if a spokesperson for Motivate said the company did not have data on the number of people involved in its subsidy program, the company admitted that its members were whiter and richer than the population of the city. .

However, not everyone is happy to hear about the expansion. Lyft's move could hurt Uber's prospects for Lime and Uber on one of the country's most bike-friendly markets, where bike-sharing fortunes could be created or destroyed. Both of these companies are part of a pilot project of city-owned self-service bikes in the outer boroughs: Lime in Staten Island and the Rockaway section of Queens, where it has served more than 75,000 rides since June, and Jump in the Bronx and Staten Island, where more than 40,000 rides were made. (Citi Bike is also part of the pilot project, which uses pontoon-free bikes in the Bronx.) This program has just been extended for another three months, partly to test viability on the part of the city's electric scooter. , which is currently illegal. A spokesman for the New York City Department of Transportation said the expansion of Citi Bike should not affect the pilot project. But Uber and Lime say they have been snubbed and want to expand their services to more low-income New Yorkers.

"The City should work with all parties to ensure access to all who wish to ride a bike to move in their communities – not a business that has long been keeping New Yorkers out of the periphery," said one Uber spokeswoman in a statement. The spokesman said Jump was ready to deploy up to 20,000 e-bikes in the outer boroughs.

Lime said she would like permission from the city to deploy more than 600 bikes she operates in the city. "The problem of equity in transportation in New York requires an immediate solution – and the best solution for New Yorkers is competition among several companies, offering the most options to each community," he said. said Lime spokesman Evan Thies in a statement. "Lime is ready to ship for New Yorkers right now."

Lyft's investment also shows that the company has mainly engaged in the form of self-service bikes, despite the recent explosion of wharf-free options. According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, 44% of the more than 100,000 US self-service bicycle bikes do not have a dock, but they accounted for only 4% of the 35 million trips made by bicycle. shares last year.

And if Lyft succeeds, New York City's self-service bike stations will soon be more than just places to keep bikes upright. The ride-hail company wants more than a thousand bicycle docks woven throughout the metropolitan area. (There are currently 750). "The wharves are very important and they will become even more so as we have more electric bikes," says Samponaro, who notes that the 200 Citi electric bicycles currently in the system are used 14 times a day, twice the rate. use of non-electric. Docks will be crucial sites for charging and rebalancing e-bikes throughout the system.

Lyft would also like the wharves to be the destinations. "Docks have investment advantages," says Samponaro. "They can help connect urban planning initiatives, whether it's parklets or collars." Lyft, in other words, wants to help shape a future with more alternatives to the car, such as walking and cycling. And if docks are easy places to pick up and drop off customers, then all the better.

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