Citi Bike Enjoys Broad Support in All Five Boroughs

Coalition Includes Organizations like Bronx Health REACH, WHEDco, The Point CDC, New York League of Conservation Voters, and Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness

New York, NY —#CitiBike4All, a coalition launched by Transportation Alternatives in May in support of a five borough Citi Bike program, has hit its goal of 7,000 signatures from all five boroughs.

Supporters delivered the signatures to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Letitia James, City Council Member and Chair of the Transportation Committee Ydanis Rodriguez, Staten Island Borough President James Oddo, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz.

“Expanding Citi Bike to all five boroughs will provide an incredibly valuable transportation alternative to New Yorkers,” said Public Advocate Letitia James. “Citi Bikes reduce traffic, subway congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions; while providing a fun way to exercise and travel around the City. I’ve long supported expanding Citi Bike, and am thrilled to see more New Yorkers joining the fight.

“Citi Bike needs to expand to all five boroughs. My constituents want this service, as their tremendous response to this petition demonstrates so clearly. Bronxites should have equity when it comes to bike sharing programs, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in government, as well as Transportation Alternatives and other advocates, to make ‘Citi Bike for All’ a reality,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said, “Over the years, our persistence in increasing resurfacing and improving the conditions of Staten Island’s roads have led to some dust ups that somehow resulted in folks thinking Staten Island is anti-bike. We are not! And we at Borough Hall have said that consistently during our tenure here the last three and a half plus years. We want bike share on Staten Island and are ready to work with the city to make it happen.”  

“New Yorkers are speaking out from across the five boroughs to demand Citi Bike in their communities,” said Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez. “Citi Bike’s proven system is ready to touch down in the Bronx, Staten Island and upper Manhattan and the time to deliver these bikes is now. With record breaking success year over year and a willingness to work with our city and support communities in need, Citi Bike should continue to offer more neighborhoods an affordable and fun way to get around.”

“It is time for the Bronx and Staten Island to get to join the rest of the city in being able to take advantage of the Citi Bike system to get to work, the grocery store and other nearby transportation hubs,” said Caroline Samponaro, Deputy Director at Transportation Alternatives.  “Citi Bike is a safe, affordable, and fun way for New Yorkers to get around. It reduces C02 emissions, improves health outcomes, and helps to make our city more people-friendly.  It is time to allow the system to grow to scale.”

Support for a five-borough Citi Bike has been especially strong in the Bronx and Staten Island, where advocates argue that the expansion of Citi Bike would improve health outcomes, access to transit hubs, and local commercial corridors and make it easier to travel to transportation hubs like subway stations and buses.

Forty-six percent (46%) of the 7,000 signatures collected were from residents of the Bronx and Staten Island.

Community organizations in those boroughs have also signed on to support Citi Bike in Staten Island and the Bronx, including Bronx Health REACH, BronxWorks, WHEDco, The Point CDC in the Bronx, and Staten Island MakerSpace and the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness in Staten Island.

Citywide organizations in support of a five borough Citi Bike include Urban Upbound, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, New York League of Conservation Voters and New York Restoration Project, among others. The coalition continues to grow.

Citi Bike launched in May 2013 with 6,000 bikes at 332 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. By the end of 2017, Citi Bike will have doubled in size, with 12,000 bikes at 700 stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Since Citi Bike’s launch, annual membership has grown to more than 126,000.

Since its inception in 2013, Citi Bike has become an integral part of New York City’s transportation network, and expansion to all five boroughs is necessary to ensure it can be an even more effective and equitable mode choice. Citi Bike is popular as well: According to a Penn Schoen Berland and Transportation Alternatives poll in November 2016, 71% of likely New York City voters support Citi Bike expansion into all five boroughs, and Citi Bike recently broke its ridership record with over 70,000 rides in one day. The City Council, in its formal response to the Fiscal Year 2018 Preliminary Budget, asserted that Citi Bike has the potential to “resolve the problem of transit and health inequity for New Yorkers of all backgrounds.”