Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty

You may have noticed an influx of blue bikes in NYC lately. Or perhaps you've embarked on your morning stroll, only to discover that a bike docking station has appeared along the street around the corner. Watching New Yorker after New Yorker whiz past on a metallic blue bike (front basket included) has made me pretty eager to discover what the deal is with Citi Bike.

Image from nytimes.com

Citi Bike is a bike sharing system that allows customers to pick-up and drop-off bikes at any docking station in the city. Residents (or visitors) of NY can choose to purchase a 24-Hour Access Pass ($9.95), a 7-Day Access Pass ($25.95), or an Annual Membership ($95.00). The only catch is that bikers must check their bikes into a Citi Bike station every 30 minutes, or 45 minutes for annual members.

So, is taking advantage of Citi Bike something you should look into? From an environmental standpoint, yes! NYC has no shortage of pollution output, so the more people that choose bikes over cars the better. In terms of your health, bikes are a great alternative to riding the train, or hopping in a cab. What about the financial aspect of purchasing Citi Bike passes? Ninety-five dollars is less than the price of a month-long metro card—so $95 a year for unlimited bike trips is much cheaper than a year's worth of subway fare!

The fact that bikes must be checked in every 30-45 minutes could be a hassle for those with a longer commute. If the distance from home to work or home to school can be traveled via bike, however, then I would definitely recommend trading in your subway card for a Citi Bike pass. Try it out for a day or a week to decide if you are able to take advantage of what Citi Bike has to offer. Even a day of biking back and forth from home to work has benefits for your health, and for the health of the planet.

As for me, I first have to overcome my fear of biking in the city! I think I'll ease into it by starting out with a bike ride in an outer borough, and then slowly work my way towards biking in Manhattan. It would certainly be nice to save some of the money that I spend on subway fare each month.

Another option is, of course, to purchase and ride your own bike without any time constraints. The advantage of Citi Bike is that you'll never struggle to store your bike, as there are countless docking station locations. If finding a place to lock up your bike is not a problem for you, however, then riding your own bike would be the financially superior choice.