Citi Bike's New Owners Say Program Will Double In Size By 2017
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City's bike-sharing system is getting new owners who say they'll double its size in the next three years.
A private investor group headed by the CEO of real estate firm Related is buying Alta Bicycle Share and will move its headquarters from Portland, Oregon, to New York City.
Alta runs New York's Citi Bike as well as bike-share programs in Chicago, Boston, Toronto, Washington and other cities.
In New York, the price of an annual Citi Bike membership will rise from $95 to $149. The hike is expected to make the program more sustainable, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported.
Officials plan to expand Citi Bike from 6,000 to 12,000 bicycles by the end of 2017.
"The system's operator will remain the same, but will receive an investment of tens of millions of dollars, which will enable the system to double," Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the city's Department of Transportation, said.
Officials plan to bring Citi Bike to Queens, including Long Island City and Astoria; several neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill; and up through Harlem in Manhattan.
Trottenberg said officials will seek input from community groups before deciding exactly where the new racks will be located. WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
Former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Jay Walder will be Alta's new CEO.
Walder said every bike in the system is getting an overhaul this winter, along with every dock, Rincon reported.
"So that come spring, when the utilization of Citi Bike goes up much more, people are riding a bike that is in truly excellent condition," Walder said. "We will make our docking stations more reliable so that you can count on them working when you need one."
At its one-year anniversary in May, Citi Bike said riders had pedaled over 14 million miles.
But the bike-share program has had its share of issues since it launched in 2013, from controversy over the loss of parking spots to the cost for daily and hourly riders.
For more information about Citi Bike, click here.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)