Beginning this July, thousands of bright-blue Citibikes will begin swarming the streets of Manhattan and eventually Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan made the formal announcement today that Citibank has signed on as the official sponsor for the city’s new bike share system.
Ten thousand Citibikes located across 600 stations will be deployed across the city over the following year, making the system the largest in the United States. Citibank has committed $41 million over the next five years to jumpstart the program, with MasterCard chipping in another $6.5 million, meaning no public money will be required to launch the system. “We’re getting an entirely new transportation network without spending any taxpayer money,” Bloomberg said. “Who thought that could be done?”
An annual pass for the system will cost $95.00, with weekly passes at $25.00 and daily passes $9.95. A map of official station locations will be released soon and additional information can be found on the Citibike web site.
