Massive hidden fees are buried in a 45 page agreement that you are expected to read on the kiosk!
Was lured in by the $25/day offer only to find out after the fact that I was also charged $0.38/minute because we used e-bikes and not manual bikes. I called to complain as was told that the flat rate only applied to manual bikes and that the information is somewhere in the approximately 45 page agreement that the kiosk asks you to read and agree to. Ever tried that on a hot day with 90+ temperatures, high humidity and in direct sunlight, with others waiting to make their own purchases on the same kiosk? To add insult to injury, one of the rides involved a bike with a completely flat tire that had to be returned almost immediately to the same station it was rented from and when there were no others, we had to return my wife's, as well. Calling Citi Bike resulted in an offer to remove the highest additional charge (about $17), but nothing for any of the other charges. I'm now in the process of disputing these charges with our credit card. It would have been WAY cheaper to take taxi rides, especially because there were two bikes involved.
The actual usage experience is a mixed bag. The docking stations are clunky and often will not allow a bike that seems fine and with plenty of charge to be unlocked. The return process is nearly as bad -- sometimes the dock will work and the light will turn green and other times you have to try several until you find one that does. Pressing the "broken bike" button appears to do nothing to stop others from trying to rent the same one. There is no feedback when that button is pressed whatsoever. The bikes themselves are clunky and you feel every bump. Some bikes feel over-boosted, some feel under-boosted. There's no way to adjust that setting that I can tell.
The 30 minute per ride limit is also ridiculous, especially if it also applies to manual bikes. This is NYC, after all! There are lights, pedestrians and traffic, not to mention crazy fast e-bikes, scooters and motorcycles weaving around you on both sides without any audible warning. We rode from mid-town to just over the Williamsburg bridge on a Sunday morning and it took more than 30 minutes. The bikes have no mirrors so you can't see what's coming up behind you.
My advice is to avoid these bikes at all costs. Take the subway -- it's way safer, much less expensive, air-conditioned and avoids all of the traffic.
29 czerwca 2025
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