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Originally Posted by sopas ej
Hmm, are those Citibikes as in Citibank? Is it a public/private partnership?
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No, Citibank is only a sponsor of the bike share. But yes, it is a sort of public/private partnership because Lyft operates & manages the bike share (although because their finances are in the red, they are looking to sell off the operations).
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In Los Angeles, LA County Metro has its own Metro Bike Share; you use your TAP card to buy rides on the bike just like you'd use the TAP card to board a Metro bus or train.
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That would be great if we had that. We have OMNY as the RFID payment option in NYC for subways and buses, and hopefully other modes of regional transit in the future. Citibike uses its own app that holds the user's info, shows a real-time map of bike availability at each dock, and also unlocks the bikes via QR code.
Citibikes can also be unlocked through a keyfob, although Lyft prefers everyone to use the app. QR code vandalism is an issue in some communities (for reasons I don't completely understand - I've only been riding for a couple of months - but it's typically done by high schoolers on the e-bikes), so having the key fob helps.
Citibike also has a Bike Angels program that gives points to riders to help balance out the system. At certain points of the day (usually morning or evening rush), some docks will have too many bikes (meaning users can't dock a bike they are riding) and others will have too few. Citibike decided to outsource moving these bikes to where they are needed to the riders by incentivizing them with points. These points can be exchanged for e-bike credits, Lyft credits (for rideshare), extending your membership for free, or just plain old cash (gift cards).