Improve the Citi Bike Map
Problem: In the Citi Bike map (in the app) it is almost impossible to tell traffic flow direction for streets when browsing the map, an arguably important piece of information when biking in NYC. Similarly, reading street names is just as hard with them only appearing if you zoom in almost all the way! The green bike lane lines cover the street arrows which indicate the direction of traffic (I've circled two arrows that are being covered). Also, only two street name labels are showing here: Suggestions: Make it easier to see the traffic flow arrows by either making the direction arrows easier to see (change color, size, etc) or allow users to toggle the green bike lane overlay on the map on and off Make it easier to see/read street names and prioritize them over places of interest Add a toggle to show/hide places of interest on the map (restaurants, hotels, stores, etc) Lastly, an argument against improving the current experience might be to user the "directions" feature which will give you a correct route but to that I say that sometimes we just want to do an ad-hoc bike ride. Secondly, bike angels (like me) would love to better see street names and traffic flow directions I don't really use the directions feature because there's no way to simply put a pin on the map or tap on a station as your start and end address; we must type in the address which is time-consuming.113Views7likes3CommentsIdea: Always Offer Low-assist option for eBikes (next-gen)
As many riders know, the low-assist mode for next-gen eBikes is only available if there are no classic/acoustic bikes at the station. When you then scan the eBike using the app you choose between low assist and full assist. Citi Bike ought to offer the option of low assist for next-gen eBikesregardless of the presence of a classic/acoustic bike to accommodate. If you agree with this idea, please like this post to show your interest to the Bike Angel team. For me there are two reasons why I'd like to see this: Classic bikes have seats that don't go high enough for riders 6'1 or taller which can lead to knee pain for long or uphill rides. Next-gen bikes allow for the seat to move higher but more often than not I have to pay for this privilege because there are classic bikes at the station. On more than one occasion I don't get the pedal assist option for eBikes because there's one classic bike at a broken dock that can't be removed so I'm forced to pay for a full power eBike ride when I don't want to/shouldn't have to. To streamline the experience, this should be an opt-in option so that full-assist riders used to scanning and riding aren't burdoned by having to choose full-assist each time. Lastly, in conjunction with this idea, please offer users the pedal assist preference via the iPhone and Android apps (under Settings). For some reason it is only offered via https://account.citibikenyc.com/profile after logging into your account making it frustrating and confusing for riders who primarily use the app and can't find anywhere to update their preference:152Views6likes4CommentsUnequal pay for some of us!
So the emails from Tremendous went out and confirmed something very disturbing. Those of us who have not yet been given the new redemption procedure (“old app”) are being paid less than those who have (“new app.”) The app rollout started over two months ago and still has not been pushed out to all users, which makes no sense. It could easily have already been rolled out to everyone. And now, those of us who haven’t yet gotten the “new app” are being penalized for Citibike’s system/admin issues. Those with the “new app” recently got a ‘raise’ in that they will now get $200 per 1000 points. Those of us on the “old app” are still only getting $170 per 1000 points. So Citibike is randomly paying some Angels significantly more than other Angels. When I asked about it, I was told that yes, some Angels will get “slightly more” than others. In what universe is nearly 18% “slightly more?” There’s nothing we can do to get the “new app,” just wait, we’re told. That waiting is costing us money. Also, many of the top earning Angels are still on the “old app” which seems too strange to be a coincidence. So if you had a good month earning points but are still on the “old app,” Citibike considers you a second-class Angel. Those who earned fewer points may well be getting paid more than you. We’re getting less pay for more work!Solved1.7KViews6likes16CommentsGet Answers Directly from the Bike Angels Team
Get Answers Directly from the Bike Angels Team The Bike Angels Team is active in this community with members of our team monitoring and answering topics frequently. But, we’ve noticed some niche questions and feedback popping up, and some Angels that answered our survey expressing they’d like to connect with members of the Bike Angels Team more directly. So, we’re hosting a Bike Angels Community AMA! 🎉 An AMA, or Ask Me Anything, is a Q&A event that connects an audience with key members of their community. Our AMA will create a dedicated time and place for Angels to directly ask the Bike Angels Team questions. We’ve invited program and product experts and seasoned Bike Angels that are on the Citi Bike Team to answer your questions. Join us the week of June 21st - 28th to ask questions to the Bike Angels Team directly. We’ll post another update with full details about the event by June 14th. Keep track of your questions in the meantime!1.2KViews4likes5CommentsIs There a Bike Angels Reward for Returning Abandoned Citibike?
Is there a reward through the Bike Angels program for returning abandoned Citibikes that are left outside of stations? If so, what is the process for doing this? I often see bikes left around, but given my tight schedule, it doesn’t seem worth the effort without a clear incentive. A way to scan them to know that they are truly abandoned and receive substantial points for returning them would be ideal.109Views3likes3CommentsCiti Bike Dock Issues: Need Better Reporting
I often find myself riding to stations that show available docks on the app, only to arrive and find none. Despite the app indicating available docks, the reality is often different. For instance, at 1st Ave & E 68th St on July 2nd at 11:30 am: The app showed six available spaces, but there were none. I suspect the valet left without updating the dock status. Several people were already waiting for a space to free up, while others left in frustration. Here's another example in Midtown: The app shows one but it's permanently unusable. The app allows us to report bike issues using the wrench icon, but there seems to be no way to report problems with dock stations. Is there an alternative to calling customer service for this? Perhaps the Angel program could be enhanced to address this, supplementing the bi-monthly station inspections, or we could implement a feature to correct system data inaccuracies more easily. Thanks.76Views3likes6CommentsToo many E-Bikes at high elevation stations
Ever since the new policy that ended our ability to get free e-bikes on stations with no regular bikes (seehttps://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/09/19/say-good-bye-to-the-free-citi-bike-e-bike-loophole)I've noticed that certain stations have been accumulating a lot of E-bikes that don't leave the station. This happens more often on high-elevation stations- clearly people want to take e-bikes up a hill, but no one wants to take them down. Here is a picture of a station in Morningside Heights: I know that you can ride E-bikes with "reduced power" after all the regular bikes are gone, but in my experience this is rather unpleasant. I think Citi Bike needs to reconsider this new policy.267Views3likes2CommentsBike Angels Community AMA 2023
UPDATE: This is thread is closed for new AMA questions. Feel free to add kudos to any unanswered questions! We’ll continue to monitor this thread, and of course the community is always open for members to post new topics and feedback.Big Thanks to Angels that joined in the conversation! Our first AMA is live—drop your questions below.🎉 As a reminder, our AMA is more passive than a traditional AMA, and will remain open for one week. Some helpful links: Community Guidelines Community FAQ Robert's Intro Remco's Intro Eliza's Intro robert_halo | Robert 13,165 Lifetime Points (As of today I have 11,415 lifetime points. But just wait until tomorrow....) Internal Mega Angel Software Engineer — Lyft Transit and Bikes I’m Robert, and I'm a strong believer in Bike Share as something that makes the world a better place. I use it and public transit all the time. The benefits in terms of pollution reduction, fewer cars on the road, etc. are fantastic. I also really love meeting other Angels. There's something wonderful about seeing the other person also dashing between stations and staring at their phone the same way that I do. We are all ages, all backgrounds, and all genders. We are often intense, but Doing Good. Hoping to meet more and more folks while out moving bikes. Although I don’t work on Bike Angels directly, I'm an active internal user (over 12k points), and I actively give early feedback and try my best to catch things and represent folks in the Angel community. Ask me Anything. Remco | Remco 3,674 Lifetime Points Community Mega Angel Software Engineer — Bike Angels I’m Remco, and I’ve worked on the Bike Angels Team for more than 3 years. Most recently, I’ve been working on tools that help the team simulate rides and ride conditions. My lifetime score is 3276; Even though we can test Bike Angels features just through software in our pre-production environment, I really want to go out to earn some points every week because it feels different if you need to bike and walk for your points. I find reading the balance between what's needed for the system and fun to do for the riders challenging, and seeing people get really caught up and excited about Bike Angeling super rewarding. Ask me anything. eliza | Eliza 206 Lifetime Points Redeemable Rewards Expert UX Designer — Bike Angels I’m Eliza, and I’ve been working on Bike Angels for two years as a UX designer on the Bike Angels Team. I work with the team to think of ways to improve the Bike Angels experience and hopefully make it more engaging. Most recently, I’ve been working on the new redeemable rewards structure. I'm a Bike Angel in San Francisco, a landscape with a lower density of points due to lower bike density, so my experience is a bit different than Angels in New York. I've travelled to New York various times to better understand Bike Angel point earning patterns, study point discrepancies between neighborhoods, and get a better sense of how efficient NYC Angels actually are! Ask me anything.5.3KViews3likes48CommentsRewards for "stolen" or "lost" bikes?
I have seen bikes on the streets--though usually sidewalks--of New York City--that are either lost stolen abandoned misplaced Once, I spotted one of these "misplaced" bikes and returned it to a station, but I want to know if there is any incentive available for me return this bikes.766Views2likes3Comments