Citi e-bike rides are about to get more expensive, company announces

Riding a Citi Bike electric bike is about to get a little more expensive.

In a message to app customers this week, Lyft, the company that runs the ubiquitous bike-sharing program, said the price hike is because battery swapping, insurance costs and vehicle expenses are costing more than the company anticipated when the rates were set in December.

Lyft also said that to address these higher costs, it is working with the city’s transportation department and Con Edison to pilot charging stations, which will reduce some of its operating overhead.

“We will continue to invest in manual battery swaps to ensure you can find an e-bike that is charged and ready to ride,” the post reads. “Demand for e-bikes continues to grow, with e-bikes now accounting for two-thirds of all Citi Bike trips.”

Price increases range from 2 to 6 cents more per minute depending on the type of ride and the user’s subscription status. Pedal bike fares remain unchanged.

Here is the breakdown of the increases:

• No change in annual membership fees
• For members, per-minute rates increase from 20 to 24 cents
• Day pass and single-ride per-minute fees for non-members increase from 30 cents to 36 cents
• For discounted subscriptions, per-minute rates increase from 10 cents for the first 45 minutes and 20 cents per minute thereafter, to 12 cents for the first 45 minutes and 24 cents per minute thereafter.

Lyft says the new fares are still below the cap set by the city’s transportation department.

Mamoudou N’diaye lives in Ridgewood, Queens, and said the price increase is making him reconsider the service.

“I’m annoyed. Four cents more per minute is a pretty crazy increase,” he said. “It’s all about internal details, like insurance and all that. Sometimes there are enough e-bikes that I can keep doing this.”

He added: “It’s not fair that consumers are having to pay premiums when they should be because people are still getting injured on e-bikes.”

The change is expected to go into effect on July 10 and will only affect New York City, not New Jersey.

This story has been updated with an additional interview.