Some Citi Bike participants couldn’t even get their wheels out of the gate yesterday, the first full day the program was open to the general public.
Bike-share stations across the city had glitches that wouldn’t allow riders to check bicycles out — or even back in — during certain periods, wasting precious rental time.
At a prime location near Grand Central, one huge rack was down for about 30 minutes while a technician worked to fix it.
“It’s pretty disheartening, really,” said lawyer Aditya Basrur, 29, whose Sunday-afternoon cycling plans with friends visiting from Australia were ruined because of the glitch.
“We’re just trying to make the most of the city on a summer’s day, but the bikes just aren’t cooperating,” he said. “Frustrated would be one way of putting it, disappointed is another.”
In Union Square, some users who bought day passes had to return several times to a kiosk — and face long lines — to get their codes to work.
“It’s so hot out, I just want to go home,” griped nurse Riyeon Kim, 29, of Gramercy Park.
Student Michael Schreder, 19, had to use three different codes to get his bike out.
“I’ve seen [bike-share reps] see that I’ve been having problems, but none of them have come over to try and help,” he said.
At the Chambers Street rack near City Hall, all the bikes were still parked in the afternoon because of a broken screen that wouldn’t let patrons check anything in or out.
Riders “come after 30 minutes are up, and they have nowhere to park them. Then it’s money out of their pocket,” said Jesus Bauzo, 25, sitting nearby.
Brooklyn resident José Torres and his wife were among the frustrated hordes. His wife tried checking out a bicycle, but her code wouldn’t work, so the couple ended up wasting at least half their rental time trying to get things going.
Then it got worse.
“I got a flat tire on the Brooklyn Bridge and had to walk awhile because the racks on Chambers weren’t working,” said Torres, of Carroll Gardens.
“When it works, it’s great,’’ he said. “It hasn’t been smooth so far.”
Still, city Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan insisted that the program has been a “terrific success so far.”
“People not even on bikes giving the thumbs-up, people helping one another at the stations,” Sadik-Khan said. “There’s just a great sense of community.”
Rack-ing up rides
* Cumulative City Bike trips since May 27 launch: 65,803*
* Annual members: 27,678
* Trips between 5 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. yesterday (first day open to everyone): 14,933
* 24-hour subscriptions yesterday: 2,765
* Seven-day subscriptions: 183
* Cumulativemiles pedaled: 202,000
* All figures are as of 5 p.m. yesterday.
Source: NYC Department of Transportation