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With Some Cash From Related Companies, Citi Bike Could Expand Next Year

With Some Cash From Related Companies, Citi Bike Could Expand Next Year

The latest piece in the ongoing saga of Citi Bike actually contains some good news. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Related Companies, through its affiliate, REQX Ventures, is close to finishing a deal that would inject millions of dollars into the struggling, but popular, bike share system.

The influx of cash would  allow Citi Bike to expand into Upper Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. It would also almost double the program’s current number of bikes to 12,000. The program originally promised to deliver 10,000 bikes at its launch under the Bloomberg administration so there will be an extra 2,000 bikes crisscrossing the city.

This, of course, comes with a cost. The Journal reported that Alta Bicycle Share—the company that operates Citi Bike—could raise the yearly membership price from $95 per year to $140 each year. A subsequent New York Times piece  said membership could actually increase to $155 per year. According to the Times, the expansion could begin next year with an expected completion in 2017.

“The arrangement would wrest control from Alta, the company, based in Portland, Ore., that has partnered with the city to date, and give it to REQX, a venture formed by some principals of the real estate firm Related and the fitness chain Equinox,” the Times reported. “REQX would also assume a majority stake in Alta’s other systems, in cities like Boston, Washington and Melbourne, Australia. The agreement could be announced as early as this week, though officials cautioned that a deal had not been completed.”


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