A Mission for Citi Bike: Recruiting More Female Cyclists | NY Times

A woman rode a Citi Bike near Madison Square Park on Monday. Women take about a quarter of all Citi Bike trips and make up just under a third of its members. CreditChristopher Lee for The New York Times 


When she passes a row of shiny blue Citi Bikes in Manhattan, Yael Steren often wants to stop and take one for a ride. Then the doubt creeps in.
Braving city traffic without a helmet seems too risky. But carrying one around all day would be a hassle.
“I know how crazy the drivers are here,” said Ms. Steren, 36, a personal stylist who lives in Greenwich Village.
Like many women in New York City, she has weighed the wind-in-your-hair joy of urban cycling with the pulse-quickening anxiety of steering between barreling trucks and decided against taking a spin.
When Citi Bike arrived here, it promised to spread the benefits of biking to the masses, an uphill push in a city where large potholes, heedless yellow cabs and darting pedestrians can make riding on busy streets seem like an activity best left for daring messengers.
But two years in, Citi Bike’s inroads have been decidedly uneven, with men far outnumbering women in using the bike-sharing system. A little time on Eighth Avenue on a recent morning, watching the stream of Citi Bike riders heading north past Pennsylvania Station and toward Times Square, was instructive. Man after man pedaled by, some in suits, others in jeans. From time to time, a woman on a Citi Bike rode by.
[Keep reading at NY Times]

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