While Citi Bike’s financial situation has gotten a little complicated, the idea behind the bike-sharing program remains pretty simple: All of the somewhat clunky blue machines are there to be used for a certain amount of time by anyone who pays for the privilege. Related: Those who want a bike that only they can ride should buy one. But there is at least one person in New York City who has either failed to grasp these two concepts, or (more likely) DGAF.
A good citizen named John Marsh forwarded Gothamist the above photo of a Citi Bike U-locked at an East 20th Street station, presumably by someone who believes that they are entitled to exclusive use of it. Marsh also sent the image (along with the bike’s serial number) to NYC Bike Share, which operates Citi Bike, to see what they had to say about it.
Unsurprisingly, an NYC Bike Share rep confirmed that “This practice is definitively against the rules of our system, as well as against the community spirit of bike share.” But the rep did not explain how exactly the perpetrator would be punished for their rule-breaking and community spirit-violating, nor did she say whether they had even been (or could be) identified. Gothamist followed up with Citi Bike’s marketing director, Dani Simons, who responded by saying that she would have to get back to them, as this was “the first instance of a Citi Bike being locked in a dock that she’s aware of.” So, at the very least, the U-lock–carrying rider has to live with the shame of knowing that they might just be the most selfish Citi Bike user in all of New York. But, then again, they probably don’t feel too bad about that.
