With Cash From REQX, Citi Bike Hopes To Increase Membership Fees By Nearly 50%

Walking takes too long, there’s not exactly an abundance of parking spaces, the MTA is a wreck–so how much would you pay for an annual Citi Bike membership? The Wall Street Journal reports that following a soon to come, much needed financial boost from REQX, Citi Bike owner Alta Bicycle Share Inc. hopes to raise annual fees from $95 to $140 or more.

WSJ says ridership doubled what Citi Bike had initially anticipated (meaning more necessary repairs, replacements, and abandoned bikes than projected, perhaps?), and short-term riders and tourists, who were asked to pay higher fees to ride, were few and far between. Alta and REQX seem to be banking on the nearly 50% price increase to keep Citi Bike afloat, but so far it’s unclear whether the city will allow it–the DOT has been urging Citi Bike, first and foremost, to expand the geographic reach of its docking stations and fix problematic software.

Over 100,000 $95 yearly memberships were purchased in Citi Bike’s first year, says the paper. REQX is expected to complete their transaction with Citi Bike within a week, so we’ll soon see if NYC will approve of the increased fee–but what’s your take on it? Is the system valuable enough to you to pay 150% of what you were paying before?

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