NYers Took Record-Setting 2.71M Citi Bike Rides In May

NEW YORK CITY — The pandemic popularity of Citi Bike pedaled to new heights in May, even as coronavirus restrictions lifted.

“We broke just about every type of ridership record this past month,” Laura Fox, who's Lyft's general manager for Citi Bike, said Wednesday. “So that included the monthly record, weekly, all-time record and daily all-time record as well.”

New Yorkers took a total 2.71 million rides on Citi Bikes during May — a record that Mayor Bill de Blasio touted during his daily briefing.

Find out what's happening in New York City by becoming a subscriber.

De Blasio himself was among the riders. He donned a helmet, fiddled with a Citi Bike's seat, acclimated himself to the bike's shifters and took a much-publicized ride to City Hall in an effort to highlight the city's bike projects.

The city plans to install 30-plus miles of protected bike lanes this year.

"What a good way to ride into the summer of New York City,” de Blasio said.

The coronavirus pandemic, the city's Open Streets program and concerns over public transit brought a rush of new cyclists onto the city's streets in the past year.

Fox, who appeared with de Blasio, said Citi Bike has seen days topping 100,000 riders. She said the bikeshare is in the midst of a $100 million expansion which will bring bikes to Astoria, Inwood, Sunset Park and the West Bronx.