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NYC Bike Share Rolls Out, Jon Stewart Responds

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New York City recently implemented the largest bike sharing program in the U.S., Citi Bike,  joining major cities such as Paris, Dublin and Barcelona in the fight to bring pedal powered transportation to more people.   The NYC Bike Share is privately funded and run by Citi Group.  There are 6,000 bikes at over 300 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn with 10,000 bikes and 600 stations planned.  Like other bike shares, consumers can swipe their credit card to rent a bike and annual passes start at $95 (tens of thousands of which have already been purchased).  They’re offering discounts on helmets.  There’s even an app for finding the nearest bike share and the most bike friendly route for where you’re going.  But it wouldn’t be New York if someone didn’t complain and what better way to address ill founded complaints than satire?

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jon jon
jon jon
10 years ago

“the J train? ma-da-fu-K@ the J train? where the f@#K am I gonna go on the J train??”

Damien
Damien
10 years ago

God I love Jon Stewart.

liberty minded
liberty minded
10 years ago

privately funded by the federeal reserve bank 😀 ahahahah

endurobob
endurobob
10 years ago

his response and facial expression to dorothy rabinowitz was priceless.

“theyre just f*cking bikes lady…”

Chad
Chad
10 years ago

Powerful bike lobby?! Holy sh$% that’s funny.

Paco
Paco
10 years ago

[deleted]

Mindless
Mindless
10 years ago

[deleted]

Mindlistlessness
Mindlistlessness
10 years ago

[deleted]

Laurens
10 years ago

Great, Stewart is spot on.

Dorothy Rabinowitz complaining about an authoritarian mayor of NY and the all-powerful bicycle lobby is just batsheet crazy, sorry. She still thinks riding a bike might turn people into blood-thirsty communist infiltrators in a snap, or what is her problem with bicycles? I can only copy Stewart on this: “They’re just friggin bikes, lady”.

People thinking that parked bicycles are a bigger esthetic issue than parked cars and lessen the value of real estate in historic neighborhoods are beyond my understanding as well. That old lady musing about small electronic cars like golf cabbies is outright hilarious. If that granny’s looking for that kind of transport, she should move to Arizona.

pmurf
pmurf
10 years ago

hahaha….”Ah yes…..BIG WHEEL!” I hope one day there’s a bike lobby influential enough to call Big Wheel.

Mindless
Mindless
10 years ago

Why “God, I love Jon Steward” comment was left, and “Jon Steward is a [deleted]” was deleted?

Kristi Benedict
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  Mindless

Mindless, nice vs. not nice. Plus, I’m tired of that word.

– Kristibee (the one who has to read ALL the comments)

rider
rider
10 years ago
Mindfull
Mindfull
10 years ago

While most here are for obvious reasons, advocates of these programs; let us not forget that the PUBLIC is paying for this program.

We of Libertarian leaning ask..Oh great paternal overlord Bloomberg, if this program is so wonderful, why can’t it stand on it’s own merits? Why should the non-riding public be forced to subsidize it?

I assume most are aware of MB’s heavy-handed governance of how the “little people” need to told what to do. So it is not surprising that ANYTHING he impliments his motives are subjected to scrutiny.

Max
Max
10 years ago

Mindfull,

You of Libertarian leaning should be all over this. Citi Bike is privately owned and “operates without City subsidy.”* Free market capitalists providing a public service, for profit, at no cost the public.

All the city had to do was say “yeah, OK, let’s do that.”

*source: http://www.bloomberg.com/article/2013-05-09/ahgGxlSMzBVw.html

Damien
Damien
10 years ago

@Mindfull – I’m sorry sir, but considering the massive investment in road infrastructure that the federal government (ie you) pay for, and the pittance that goes to bike infrastructure, I have a great deal of difficulty considering your viewpoint as anything but silly. I seriously doubt that you complain about new roads or highways, but a bike program you DO bitch about.

However, as the entire system is run without government subsidies or any tax dollars of ANY kind, your viewpoint is especially silly. Thats why its called Citi Bike, because they put a bunch of money towards the infrasture and system.

Please do a bit of research before you complain. Thanks

Damien
Damien
10 years ago

@Mindful – I just want to be clear. The PUBLIC is NOT paying a single cent for this program unless they use it. Thanks again

Scudder
Scudder
10 years ago

Mindfull-

You are completely incorrect. There is no public funding in the CitiBike program (unless you split hairs and count the DOT time/effort.) The program was completely capitalized buy the contract holder and underwriting sponsors.

In fact, the city has the chance of earning money on the project, per a revenue sharing agreement with Alta.

askar larkinyar
askar larkinyar
10 years ago

yes please…..get rid of the bikes so the wall street editor lady can park her limo there.

one limo = 30 bikes…. 🙁

Psi Squared
Psi Squared
10 years ago

Oh, the injustice. The public being inflicted with a program that can’t stand on its own merits…oh, what? Oh it does stand on its own merits and doesn’t cost non-users of the system a dime. Still, why should the non-riding public be forced to subse……..uhm…..er……..be forced to look at blue bikes instead of a 2 or 3 more parked cars at a given location? Oh, that heavy handed government accepting a program that others have invested in so that it costs nothing to the non-riding public…….dang that for being something that libertarians normally go along with.

I think this CitiBike deal is what is normally known as a “win-win” scenario.

Ludo
Ludo
10 years ago

“Keep that B___H in tha air” I love it…

Mindfull
Mindfull
10 years ago

Not subsidized..really?

How much are they paying for the parking spaces they are using? How much is real-estate in NYC per square foot again?

When revenue is not collected for use of space it is a subsidy. NYC collects $millions in meter revenue, fines, towing, storage, forfeitures etc from parking. What contribution is this program making to infrastructure costs?

Laurens
10 years ago

Well, that “libertarian” rant of mindless/Mindful was kinda mind-boggling.
Being uninformed and getting all mad about something that is nothing like it.
Did not know that “libertarian” was a synonym for “stupid and too lazy to get wiser” aka Fox News sheep.
But then again, I am not too lazy to get wiser. So I guess I am not libertarian.

But as a left-wing eco progressive from Europe, there would not even be a drawer to put me in in the States. What you guys call progressive is pretty conservative over in Europe (Central Europe, not Hungary or even Russia).

To all New Yorkers: Have fun with the City Bikes. Ride them. Enjoy them. And do not follow the hatred and uninformed non-sense the WSJ is spewing.

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