CitiBike’s solar-powered docking stations don’t always get enough electricity on cloudy days — a glitch that makes returning the bikes infuriating, riders say.
Bike-share users say the malfunction occurs most often on overcast days, when stations are not fully charged.
“It’s a joke — they’re solar-powered, so they’re basically dead half the time . . . It’s worse when it’s cloudy or when the dock is under a tall building,” said Steve Cheney, who spent 15 minutes trying to return a bike to an out-of-commission station at Spring and Mercer streets yesterday morning.
A Department of Transportation spokesman said the glitches were not weather-related, and added that CitiBike will not hit riders with overcharge fees if they cannot dock a bike.