CitiBike Case Study

Background

Citi Bike is a privately owned public bicycle sharing system serving the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, as well as Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Problem (Open ended)

When CitiBike launched in New York City in 2014 it was widely successful among New Yorkers. However, there was a lack of casual ridership. There are not enough purchases of single-day and week-long passes.

The Goal

Increase casual ridership by 33%. This goal was open ended and could be accomplished by working with any audience, or method.

Initial Brainstorming

To define and better understand a target audience we conducted adhoc user interviews and did social listening. We also looked at other cities that successfully implemented bike share programs. But what makes CitiBike unique from any other bike share program? It’s a core part of being a New Yorker.

Our chosen target audience? Transitional Millennials. These are people who are in a state of transition, such as just moving to New York for college, or moving out of their parents’ house for the first time.

The Ecosystem

Understanding the Ecosystem

We looked at the three main platforms that needed to be enhanced. The focus was rider safety, ease of use, and awareness. The main enhancements were to the kiosks, mobile app, and citibikenyc.com. After the enhancements to the platforms we used avenues of awareness to draw users in. We wanted to take it a step further and put a smile on people’s faces with some added benefits to leveraging the enhanced platforms.

Print Ads - One Ride Closer

Mobile App Enhancements

Allowing users to purchase a daily pass or 7 day pass directly from their mobile phones helps with congestion at kiosks and makes the barrier to get a bike easier. This also allowed for users to be ready to ride even before arriving in New York.

After a simplified sign up process the app uses location settings to determine the nearest bike stations next to you. Ready to ride? Riders click “Get Code” and walk up to the kiosk. Then they select their name and type in the custom code that appears on the app.

Each rider has a profile on their app that logs miles ridden and trips taken. Rides are tied to badges which can be collected and redeemed for Citi Preferred Rewards.

Out of Home Interactive Billboard

Helmet Vending Machine

During user research, we found that safety was the #1 concern.

Social Focus

Social media was one of the best ways to reach out to our target demographic. Through both paid and free media methods. A partnership with Humans of New York for a week could highlight New Yorkers on the bike, further normalizing it as a central aspect of NYC.