Lyft To Offer Citi Bikes Through Ride-Hailing App

NEW YORK — New Yorkers will soon be able to get a ride in a car or on a bike using the same app. Lyft plans to integrate the Citi Bike service into its ride-hailing app starting in early May, the company announced Monday.

The change will allow some users in the city to unlock one of the 12,000 blue Citi Bikes and pay for a ride within the Lyft app.

The app will show those users nearby available bikes and give a five-digit code to check one out, Lyft says, similar to the existing Citi Bike app. Riders will also have the option to rate their ride, according to the company.

The move is part of Lyft's effort to blend bike-sharing with its car service following its acquisition last year of Motivate, Citi Bike's parent company.

While Lyft's portfolio now includes bike-sharing services in other big cities such as Chicago and the Boston area, the company noted that Citi Bike is one of the world's most popular systems with a record of more than 75 million rides.

Lyft says it plans to add more features in New York over the next few months — including the option for Citi Bike members to link their accounts — and expand the service to other cities soon.

The announcement came a day after Citi Bike said it was pulling all of its electric bikes out of service because of safety concerns. It also comes on the heels of Lyft's initial public offering in March.