Another Liberal Amenity for the Urban Upper Class Courtesy Taxpayers

John Ransom | May 26, 2014


Citibike is a success. Unqualified. Raving. Success.

“Citigroup, who was the recipient of over $476 billion dollars of taxpayer bailout money,” wrote Alex Garcia on Townhall Finance in 2012, “has joined forces with the City of New York to sponsor a $41 million dollar bike share program.”



That program became Citibike.

The goal wasn’t quite as ambitious as Obama’s target of a million electric cars on the roads in eight years. But still the program aimed at putting 10,000 bikes in 600 locations around New York City for commuters to share in the name of environmentalism, health and being hip.

And so far the bike sharing program that sold it’s naming rights to a bank that at the time owed the United States Treasury for bailout money received, is living up to it’s storied moniker.

They’ve only put out 6,000 bikes at 325 locations. So at $6,833 per bike that’s a lot like other bailout math we’ve seen in this administration.

Oh, but that’s not all.

“New York City's Department of Transportation has held more than two dozen public meetings aimed at introducing Citi Bike to low-income New Yorkers,” reports NPR, “and it's given away more than 100,000 free helmets.”

Helmets aren’t cheap either. Even assuming a big discount, the city has spent at least a million dollars on free helmets.

But according to the city of New York, bike aficionados, and the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) the program has been an unqualified success.

“The past year has seen sustainable transport flourish,” notes ITDP, “with programs like New York Citibike receiving widespread attention. ITDP has worked with dozens of cities around the world to take steps toward building a better environment for their citizens, and millions of residents are feeling the benefits.”

CNN calls Citibike one of the best-run bike programs in the world noting: “NYC's CitiBike system averages 8.3 trips per bike and 42.7 trips per 1,000 residents.”

And according to internet site bikeshare.com: “Since its launch, we’ve seen entertainment stars like Seth Meyers, Lindsay Lohan, Mackelmore, and Leonardo DiCaprio riding Citi Bike,” adding “Anthony Weiner made headlines after taking one for a spin.”

I presume they meant Weiner took a bike for a spin, not one of the celebrities.

But underneath the surface there is still more bailout than there is bike to New York City’s bike sharing program.

“The financially troubled company running the city’s bike rental program is considering raising its rates,” reports New York Daily News, “so it can stay afloat, new Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said Thursday.”

Maybe it’s just me, but perhaps a company doing business for merely 100 days, and subsidized by a private gift, should be doing better than just trying to stay afloat.

The NY Daily News noted that some residents are now calling for the city to subsidize the bike sharing program as they do other forms of public transportation.

That’s because despite the success touted by the ITDP, bike sharing remains largely an amenity of the rich and privileged.

"The rates of low-income ridership of all bike-share programs around the world is pitifully low. So we can only do better," Caroline Samponaro, of Transportation Alternatives in New York told NPR. "The demographic information I've seen to date is that it's more men than women, and only 0.5 percent are low-income New Yorkers."

That’s because behind the feel-good façade are economics that just don’t add up.

For a $95 annual fee bike-share members in Manhattan get all-you-can-use access to the silly looking Citibikes in 45 minute increments.

That’s about half the price of a moderately priced bike at Walmart, and when you buy the bike at Walmart, you get to keep your bike, if you like it.

Really.

You do.

That’s how private property works in America. And that way you can use your bike all the time.

So while the program remains very popular for metro-testicled males in Manhattan, who apparently have money to burn in the quest to remain hip, presumably those with less discretionary income are little wiser with their money. They look at transportation as a way to get from point A to point B, cheaply and efficiently.

But expect NYC to spare no taxpayer expense to keep the program going no matter how little financial sense it makes.

This is more than just a bike program. We’re saving the planet here people.

“We’re talking to them,” Trottenberg told the Daily News about keeping the bikeshare company afloat. “I would put it this way — all options are on the table. I think everyone agrees it turned out to be a real bargain for New Yorkers, who used the system twice as much as users of other cities.”

And when politicians say that, that means taxpayers will eventually get taken for a ride to subsidize the feel-good hippiness of those who know better than you.

Not coincidentally, these are people who often live in Manhattan.


Comments;

There you go, Anna nitwit.......go out and get you a "Citi Bike"; while you're riding around on it, take GOOD care of it!
After all, it cost the taxpayers, (YOU ), $6,833! A real bargain.........if you're a nit-wit! (Which you definitely are. )

The taxpayers gave Citi Bank 476 BILLION dollars, and good old Citi Bank "passed along" 41 million of it to the liberal, fruit cake mayor of New York, and he has the liberal nit-wits, (Ann nit-wit )thinking she's getting a "freebie"! Oh....be sure to get your "free" bike helmet, Anna nit-wit.......they only cost the taxpayers about $900 apiece!

What a scheme! Who would ever think something this stupid up? Why......a liberal would....that's who!

:lol: I think she must have gotten the idea for the "Hahaha's from her "good buddy", troll boy silver; he's the current world-record holder for most "hahaha's"; poor old lonely Donna is running out of inspiration for ways to try to insult me when she thinks calling me a "trucker" is likely to get under my skin. She obviously isn't swift enough to figure out that everything she owns, including her computer and both of her wheel chairs had to be transported from where they were made to where she bought them, in a big truck. (And so far, all big trucks have to have someone drive them. ) Like all libs, in Donna's small mind, everything bad that happens is ALWAYS "someone else's" fault! (I'm surprised that she didn't blame that big crash (that she "may" have caused ), on George Bush! )

On a lighter (and far more interesting ) note, I noticed your new avatar; a few years back, I became quite interested in creating colorful designs using a very small piece of software that I had; the format that I had to work in was so small that I wrongly assumed that I would quickly run out of ideas for anything worth looking at; oddly enough, just the opposite happened; (your new avatar made me think of the following:) I had designed a big capital letter "T", and I decided to see if I could make a whole design by repeating the big "T" over and over; I came up with a bunch of variations, only one of which is on this HD in my new iMac; I think I can find it so you can see what I'm talking about.

The first computer I ever had was an old PC that my son had custom built, WAY back when.... it had this marvelous "screen saver" called "Pipes"; at one time in the early 1960s I worked for Texaco at a big river terminal on the Ohio River; the place had hundreds of big pipes which connected all of the big storage tanks together; I still have a 40 inch length of 6 in pipe with a flange on both ends that I have a grinder mounted on; It was discarded when they were upgrading the terminal, so I found a use for it and brought it home with me. I would love to find a copy of that old "pipes" screen saver that would run on a Mac; anyway, that's where my interest in "pipes" came from; and this design I came up with 7 or 8 yrs ago is where it led to.

Stop it with Lib(supply a demeaning ending). How about Republicants, try it with a final "u" republifool$, Repubf___kingcants, etc. Just examples, I will not be using.

You don't see much juvenile name calling from the "other" side, do you? I, personally, will not descend to such childish depths.

You have no idea of what a socialist is. If we are headed for a welfare state (some would demean it with "nanny"), I'm all for it. Cradle to grave, state pays for your educational, health, housing and related needs. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and similar, the happiest people as reported in numerous surveys.

Needed for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

When in doubt or you find government doing something you do not like, throw the S-bomb. Or better yet, the C-bomb. Pitiful.

Milwaukee: had three socialist mayors who were members of the American Socialist Party in the last century. Milwaukee did quite well under their respective administrations.

Some of your other posts are reasonable. Shows how politics can drive man insane. See an analyst. With a single payer system for health care, it would be covered. Perhaps even under the Affordable Care Act.

Stop it with Lib(supply a demeaning ending). How about Republicants, try it with a final "u" republifool$, Repubf___kingcants, etc. Just examples, I will not be using.

You don't see much juvenile name calling from the "other" side, do you? I, personally, will not descend to such childish depths.

You have no idea of what a socialist is. If we are headed for a welfare state (some would demean it with "nanny"), I'm all for it. Cradle to grave, state pays for your educational, health, housing and related needs. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and similar, the happiest people as reported in numerous surveys.

Needed for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

When in doubt or you find government doing something you do not like, throw the S-bomb. Or better yet, the C-bomb. Pitiful.

Milwaukee: had three socialist mayors who were members of the American Socialist Party in the last century. Milwaukee did quite well under their respective administrations.

Some of your other posts are reasonable. Shows how politics can drive man insane. See an analyst. With a single payer system for health care, it would be covered. Perhaps even under the Affordable Care Act.