Citi Bike To Add 1,000 Electric Bikes Ahead of L Train Shutdown

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Citi Bike is boosting its fleet with 1,000 pedal-assisted bikes ahead of the L train shutdown to help stranded commuters navigate the city, transit officials announced Monday.

The pedal-powered two wheelers aim to help some of the 225,000 commuters who rely on the L train each day as an alternative to the shuttered subway.

The motorized bikes will give cyclists a boost beyond their own pedal power and could whizz riders up to 25 mph for smoother, longer commutes, said the head of the city's Department of Transportation.

"Cycling is not only fun, it’s an affordable, healthy and sustainable way of getting around – and on pedal-assist bikes, it is even faster and easier," said Commissioner Polly Trottenberg in a statement. "Citi Bike members who find these new bikes will quickly see why these bikes will prove so important in next year’s L train tunnel disruption, as we work to move even more New Yorkers over the East River on two wheels."

Riders can start zipping around the city on 200 pedal-assisted bikes Monday.

Officials hope the e-bikes will be especially helpful when riders traverse the Williamsburg Bridge, once work on the L train's Canaries tunnel begins. Citi Bike also plans to place four pedal-assisted docking stations — two in Williamsburg and two in Lower Manhattan on either side of the Williamsburg Bridge.

Jay Waler, the CEO of Citi Bike's operator Motivate, joined Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and City Hall staff with an inaugural ride of the motorized bikes over the Brooklyn Bridge Monday morning.

Photo courtesy of Kathleen Culliton/Patch