Key Takeaways
- Single Ride costs $4.49, additional $0.26 per minute after 30 minutes.
- Day Pass offers unlimited 30-minute rides for $19, extra for overages.
- Annual Membership at $205, provides unlimited 45-minute classic bike rides.
- Lyft Pink membership includes unlimited rides and benefits for $199/year.
Citi Bike is a bike-sharing system that operates in New York City and some parts of New Jersey. It offers four different options, including single and daily passes for commitment-wary riders.
Single-ride passes cost $4.46, whereas day passes are priced at $19. You can buy both from the Citi Bike app, which is available on both Android and iPhone.
But before you get started, it’s better to get a full grasp of the service’s prices to budget accordingly and avoid any unexpected fees!
How Much Does Citi Bike Cost?
Citi Bike offers four different plans and options depending on how often and for how long you want to ride. Here’s a breakdown of each.
1. Single Ride
Single rides are great if you need to get from one point to another in a convenient, eco-friendly way. Unlocking a Citi Bike costs $4.49, but there are a few caveats.
For a classic bike, you only pay the unlock fee for the first 30 minutes of riding. After that, you pay $0.26 per minute. However, if you opt for an e-bike, you pay $0.26 per minute from the start, in addition to the unlock fee.
2. Day Pass
A day pass for Citi Bike costs $19, and it opens up unlimited 30-minute rides on classic bikes within 24 hours — there’s no unlock fee.
This is the go-to option if you’re planning to sightsee or explore, but there are a few things you should pay attention to.
You can ride as much as you want with unlimited 30-minute rides as long as you return your bike to any of Citi Bike’s stations and change it with a new one before 30 minutes are up. Otherwise, you’ll pay $4 for every 15 minutes extra.
E-bikes are different, though. While there’s no unlock fee, you’ll pay $0.26 per minute from the start.
3. Citi Bike Membership
Citi Bike offers an annual membership for its frequent riders; it costs $205 per year or $17.08 per month. There’s much to gain from it, so here’s a breakdown:
- Classic Bikes: You get unlimited 45-minute rides on classic bikes. If you exceed that time limit, you pay an extra $0.17 per minute
- E-Bikes: With e-bikes, you’re charged $0.17 per minute from the start, but the fee is capped at $3 for rides that enter or exit Manhattan lasting 45 minutes or less
- Discounts: With a membership, you’ll receive discounts from Lyft, Grubhub, and SIXT
- Bike Angels: Premium members can sign up for the Bike Angels program. It lets them earn points they can redeem for free ride time, membership extensions, or gift cards by moving bikes from crowded stations to those that need more bikes
- Priority Support: Premium members receive priority support
4. Lyft Pink
Citi Bike has a strategic partnership with Lyft, which offers a membership program that gives you many benefits across its services.
A Lyft Pink membership will set you back $199 a year, or $19.99 a month. As a Citi Bike rider, these are the benefits it’ll open up to you:
- Unlimited 45-minute classic bike rides
- $0.17 per minute overtime classic bike rides
- $0.17 per minute e-bike rides
- Grubhub+
- Priority support
- Bike Angels reward program (where available only)
- Three bike or scooter guest passes per year
By the way, Lyft offers many services, and this subscription covers them too. Expect priority airport pickups, free lost and found fees, and free or discounted scooter rides, among many other nifty extras.
Premium Citi Bike members also get access to new features before anyone else and get to participate in and enjoy community events, such as food tours and group rides.
On top of that, the company offers two other membership options: Bike for Business and Reduced Fare Bike Share.
BFB allows employers to offer subsidized bike-share memberships or ride credits to their employees, students, and members. RFBS is a cost-effective plan for residents who are either SNAP recipients or NYC, JC, and Hoboken Housing Authority residents.
Wrapping Up
Citi Bike is the go-to bike-sharing system in New York City and New Jersey, and it proudly serves both communities with its fleet of 25,000 bikes spread across 1,500 stations.
The dedicated application has everything you need; you can seamlessly buy passes from it and begin exploring your favorite spots in an affordable, green way.
