Citi Bike Kills $3 Price Cap on Halloween Night

The company unexpectedly updated its e-bike pricing to eliminate a $3 cap on rides outside of Manhattan.

2 minute read

November 2, 2022, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Citi Bike riders are fuming over a sudden and unannounced change in the bikeshare system’s price structure which removed the $3 cap on rides in the outer boroughs.

Reporting for Streetsblog NYC, Dave Colon quotes one customer who, in a tweet, wrote, “This price change discourages using Citi Bike to get between outer boroughs, exactly the type of trips bike share should be encouraging to fill in transportation gaps.” According to Colon, “The cap on e-bike costs was originally introduced at the end of 2019 as a $2 cap on rides outside of Manhattan, part of a billing change included with the expansion of the number of e-bikes in the fleet.” The cap went up to $3 in March 2021.

Lyft insists the recent update was meant to fix a glitch that had been “undercharging” for some rides. “According to Lyft, the cap was always meant to facilitate e-bike rides over bridges connected to Manhattan that might otherwise be taken in cars, which is why the cap still exists for trips starting or ending in Manhattan.”

Prices for annual Citi Bike memberships also went up in 2022, but, as Colon points out, “Citi Bike also remains the only mass transit option in New York City that doesn’t get any type of public subsidy, which has forced Lyft to bear the costs of expanding the number of bikes, number of docks around the city and the physical footprint around the city by itself.”

Monday, October 31, 2022 in StreetsBlog NYC

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

15 minutes ago - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

1 hour ago - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

2 hours ago - The Daily Yonder