By Corrie Dosh, photos by Eric Wong
New York City on May 27 joined the ranks of progressive metropolises such as Paris, Amsterdam, London and Barcelona—not to mention Hangzhou, China—in offering residents a healthier mass transit option. Roughly 6,000 bright blue bicycles were unveiled at stations dotting the Big Apple in a new membership-driven bikeshare system.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the new program dubbed "Citi Bike" (thanks to $41 million in corporate backing from Citi Bank) to a chorus of cheers and bicycle rings at a press conference outside of City Hall.
The program is aimed to offer short station-to-station rentals as an alternative to subway and bus service. However, the crowded, traffic-heavy alleys of New York have some residents questioning the safety of unleashing thousands of bikes onto city streets.
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