Why I Finally Quit Citibike
I recently purchased an affordable foldable e-bike, and I wish I'd done it sooner. What you swap for mild convenience (not having to lock up your bike, etc.), you increasingly lose with Citibike. Here's how it's become more enshittified.
The price hikes!
The bike quality itself, since the shift to the new gray e-bikes, is much worse. Everytime I ride over a pothole or just some uneven ground, my teeth or head hurt for a bit because the bike's are built flimsily and have no shock absorption. My new bike, which is hardly top of the line, reminds me of how much better shock absorption is on real bikes.
The speed throttling, which the city under the new mayor ought to lift, is horrible. In reality, it actually starts at around 12 mph, which makes you average speed even lower.
Citibike's really lost it's social mission, too, with the price/speed shenanigans. If the goal is to get more people to use micromobility, that isn't helping.