Today, for the first time in Citi Bike’s two-year history, a sponsor has underwritten a day of free passes for anyone who wants to ride one of the slow blue bikes. From 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM on May 14, all a rider has to do is swipe a credit card and select a 24-hour pass option. The Switzerland Tourism board is sponsoring the promotion.
Why Switzerland? Well, according to the Citi Bike Tumblr, “Switzerland offers 5,600 miles of cycling routes and 2,800 miles of biking trails as part of a program called SwitzerlandMobility,” so it’s showing off something else Swiss that New York can aspire to, since New York has already imitated Switzerland’s laissez-faire attitude toward wealth-sheltering.
(Photo: Aymann Ismail/ANIMALNewYork)