Mayor Bloomberg admitted Thursday that the Citi Bike program isn’t profitable, nearly six months after the bicycle-share program launched around town.
“I don’t think so yet,” Bloomberg said when asked if the Citi Bike program is making money.
The mayor argued that, like most start-up businesses, the Citi Bike operation is going through growing pains in its early stages of development.
“There’s a lot of teething at the beginning,” he said about the initial operating expenses. “You’ve got to get everything out there.”
With Citi Bike customers having taken more than 2 million rides since its launch, Bloomberg is confident that the system can turn a profit in time.
“It is, I think, better than anybody had anticipated in terms of usage,” Bloomberg said during a press conference at the Department of Transportation.
“It’s a way to commute, it’s a mass-transit system that requires no federal, state or city monies whatsoever.”
The program is run in conjunction with NYC Bike Share, a subsidiary of Alta Bicycle Share, which designs and manages the massive system of docking stations.
“If they make money, we’re going to share in the profits,” Bloomberg said.
“So, you know, everybody should be happy with this.”
Also, as the mayor pointed out, taxpayers have nothing to lose if the business fails.