Electric Citi Bikes Return to New York City With Lower Fees

New Yorkers will be happy to see the electric Citi Bikes back on their streets soon. The service was suspended back in April because more than a few people were injured due to brakes of the pedal-assist bikes being too sensitive.

The announcement comes after the comeback of San Francisco’s Bay Wheels e-bikes, which were also pulled out of the streets due to some batteries catching fire.

Both these services are run by Motivate, a bike-sharing company owned by Lyft. The operator said it fixe the brake problems and is now working with a different battery supplier for all of its electric bikes.

“We’re sorry for the delay and appreciate your patience.” Citi Bike stated in a blog post.

“We expect to initially launch several hundred e-bikes this winter and will gradually ramp up to a larger fleet.” The New York bike-sharing company will no longer have the $2.00 flat fee required to use the service earlier in the year. “We heard your feedback,” Citi Bike said. “Members told us they did not want to pay a flat charge every time they chose an e-bike.”

The new pricing for renting an electric bike is $0.10 per minute for annual members and $0.15 per minute for non-members. Members charges will also get a cap of $2 for 45-minute rides or less that begin and/or end outside Manhattan.

The two minute wait period between rides will also be removed.