A growing campaign is pushing New York City to make Citi Bike more affordable, with Transportation Alternatives calling for a $3 price cap on 45-minute electric-bike rides for members, the same amount riders pay for a subway or bus trip.

At present, Citi Bike members can pay $12.15 for a comparable ride, while non-members face even higher costs.

“My daughter, who recently moved to the city in her early 20s, really wants to use these for transportation,” Citi Bike rider Sarah Max said. “And we were actually just chatting about it the other day, that it’s almost as much as a taxi.”

Citi Bike’s revenue has climbed sharply since Lyft took over the system. In 2021, about a year after the takeover, the program generated roughly $88 million annually. By 2025, that figure had increased to $229 million, while Citi Bike prices have also risen every year.

Brooklyn City Council Member Lincoln Restler said Citi Bike has become the most expensive bike-share system among major cities.

Restler has introduced legislation aimed at bringing down the cost, though the measure has not yet advanced.

“We are the only major city with a large bike-share program that doesn’t offer public subsidy for bike-share,” Restler said. “And it’s time that we revisit that.”

“We subsidize every other form of transit, from our ferries, to our express buses, to the subways,” he added. “We should be doing the same for Citi Bike.”

Under the city’s current arrangement, New York shares Citi Bike revenue with Lyft. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has previously expressed support for reducing the cost of the service, but so far has not presented a specific plan to do so.