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For the fifth year in a row, Citi Bike is raising prices—this time pointing to increasing tariffs, expansion costs and higher day-to-day operating expenses.
Starting on January 5, 2026, e-bike rides will cost 27 cents per minute for members (up from 25 cents) while non-members will pay 41 cents per minute. In New Jersey, those numbers land at 23 cents for members and 35 cents for non-members. Overage fees for classic bikes are also going up, hitting 27 cents per minute in New York.
The bigger hit comes later in the month. On January 28, Citi Bike’s annual membership will rise to $239, a roughly 9% increase, cementing another year of steady price creep. Employer-subsidized memberships through Citi Bike for Business will cost $191. Reduced-fare memberships will remain $5 a month, though discounted riders will still see higher per-minute e-bike charges, increasing to 14 cents per minute.
Citi Bike says the increases are tied to rising tariffs imposed in 2025, along with insurance, staffing, vehicle costs and a continued push to expand the system. The company plans to add 250 new stations across the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, while upgrading bikes, docks and charging infrastructure. According to Citi Bike, tariffs alone added “substantial ongoing costs” that it previously absorbed but says it can’t shoulder long-term.
Critics aren’t buying it. Transportation Alternatives, a longtime bike-advocacy group, says affordability is slipping further out of reach. “Citi Bike moves New York City,” said executive director Ben Furnas in a statement. “Millions of people ride a Citi Bike every year, and tens to hundreds [of] thousands rely on it to travel every day, but rates have skyrocketed over the past few years—making it out of reach for too many.”
That concern isn’t new. A November 2025 report from the New York City Independent Budget Office found that Citi Bike is already the most expensive bike-share system in the U.S., with annual memberships climbing from $95 in 2013 to $220 in 2025—a 77% increase after adjusting for inflation. The report also noted that New York is unusual in relying entirely on private funding, unlike peer cities that use public subsidies to keep prices lower.
For now, Citi Bike members still avoid unlock fees and get unlimited 45-minute classic bike rides, plus a yearly allotment of free e-bike minutes. But with prices rising yet again, the familiar question is back: how much more expensive can New York’s “cheap, easy” transportation option get before it stops feeling that way?