Despite the recent deal that will bring a large capital infusion and expansion of the Citi Bike system in New York City, Sarah Goodyear sees a program on the brink. Can the city help ensure its success?
Goodyear begins her recent polemic by describing the "management problems and financial shortfalls" that have let to cutbacks, poor service, and a declining subscription base.
The crux of the problem: "The question is, would the city be better off looking at a different model, one in which the public sector takes more control and more accountability, in exchange for greater transparency about the way bike-share is being handled?"
Goodyear goes on to provide a number of arguments in favor of the city supporting the program with public funds, including one related to the key question posed above: "Until New York starts treating bike-share as the public amenity that it is, this potentially game-changing addition to the city’s transportation infrastructure will remain subject to the vicissitudes of deals made behind closed doors by private interests."
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