Every work day, Dr. Nitin Sethi undocks a Citi Bike from a stand near his apartment in Chelsea and rides to New York-Presbyterian Hospital on the Upper East Side. The ride takes about 45 minutes, about as long as the trip by subway.
Bikes have become a way to try to avoid infection while traveling. During the first eleven days of March, Citi Bike ridership spiked 67 percent, as coronavirus fears started to become a reality. As the pandemic peaked in April, daily rides slumped 61 percent compared to the same period last year, with most businesses closed.
Docking stations near Manhattan hospitals saw a surge in ridership amid the pandemic. The station at First Avenue and 68th Street—which ranked 31st in use during the first week of March—became the most popular of all 900 locations at the beginning of April, according to Citi Bike data. New York-Presbyterian, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Weill Cornell are all nearby.
“It’s a great mode of commuting for people with respect to social distancing,” said Sethi, who is a neurologist.
His experience on the frontlines showed him how devastating the coronavirus can be. On March 15, Sethi was deployed by the state to assist with testing in New Rochelle, which had emerged as a hot spot.
“I went up and then I became sick the following week,” he said. “I was sick for about ten days. I recovered, then the hospital really needed people to work because we had such a surge of patients so I volunteered to help out with the medicine service.”
Sethi is still not certain he had COVID-19. “I never got myself tested,” he said. “I just treated myself as if I had the disease with antibiotics and quarantined myself.
Keeping first responders and transit and healthcare workers healthy remains vital. To that end, Citi Bike has offered free annual membership to first responders and transit and healthcare workers as part of its “Critical Workers Program,” with 12,000 signing up. Sethi says the hospital has embraced the service, giving its employees another way to get to commute while limiting their exposure.
Citi Bike launched an “enhanced cleaning protocol” at five locations that serve hospitals around Manhattan, including Mount Sinai West (10th Avenue and 59th Street), NYU Langone Health (First Avenue and 30th Street), Bellevue Hospital Center (First Avenue and 27th Street), Mount Sinai Beth Israel (First Avenue and 16th Street) and Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (First Avenue and 68th Street).
“That really was a pleasant surprise that they’re doing that,” said Sethi.
According to Lyft, which owns Citi Bike, valets stationed at these stands—on duty from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 12 to 8 p.m. on weekends—disinfect bikes at “common contact points.” These include handlebar grips, brake handles, bells, shifters and seat-post clamps. At depots, bikes are handled by mechanics using gloves. The vans used to transport bikes are also disinfected at the beginning of each shift.
Citi Bike began unrolling its latest expansion, installing 100 docking stations in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, following outcry over its absence in low-income neighborhoods. The new stations service areas near Harlem Hospital and Mott Haven’s Lincoln Hospital. Citi Bike said if these new stations see an increase in riders, valets may be added.
Riders Develop DIY Sanitizing
Some Citi Bike users have their own cleaning routines.
Isaiah Harris of Manhattan, a marketing specialist at Planned Parenthood, brings along a sandwich-size bag of Lysol wipes when he uses the bikes.
“I wipe off the handlebars, the seat, the seatlift, the brakes and the bell,” said Harris, 32, who started using the bike-share as exercise amid the lockdown.
Jon Orcutt, director of communications for the advocacy group Bike New York, said Citi Bike’s cleaning methods have been “extraordinary.” He feels the spike in demand for bike-sharing makes the case for Citi Bike to expand over the entirety of the city.
“Now you see we’re resilient again, with people avoiding transit,” said Orcutt, adding that bike sharing is ideal for New York: “It’s easily available and you don’t have to bring it up to your walkup apartment, you don’t have to store it in your small apartment, you don’t have to worry about it getting stolen.”
Orcutt advises bikers to avoid crowding up on other riders at intersections and to maintain social distancing just as you would inside a grocery store or on a sidewalk.
He believes commuters may stick with biking, even when the pandemic passes —especially if the city can take more steps to ensure safety.
“Right now our network of bike lanes is a patchwork and it’s discontinuous. So what we need are some popup bike lanes that bridge those gaps,” said Orcutt.
The Surge in Bike Riding
Bike shops were deemed essential in late March. Jeffrey Martone, owner of Neighborhood Cycle in the Bronx, has seen a significant increase in demand, selling out his entire 100-bike inventory and ordering 50 more. A healthcare worker from Mount Sinai who came by to buy a Schwinn offered a few face masks as a tip.
Verrazano Bicycles in Brooklyn is throwing in a wash with each bike that comes in for a tuneup. “Soap and water is the best way to sanitize as the Health Department mentions and to use disinfectant when you don’t have access to soap and water,” said owner Thomas Kim.
Sethi says he doesn’t take any extra measures to sanitize a Citi Bike once he undocks, noting that the coronavirus is known to pass through the mouth, eyes and nose and not skin. He wears a face mask and eye protection while riding and washes his hands once he gets to work.
“The virus enters through your mucus membranes, either your mouth or your nose or your eyes. I have eye protection on, and I have a face mask that covers my nose and mouth. So there’s no way I can get the virus, and when I get to the hospital I wash my hands or Purell it.”
His bigger safety concern is about what he feels riders need most once they hit the streets.
“Helmet, helmet, helmet,” Sethi said. “I see a lot of traumatic brain injury, I see a lot of concussions that people get from either falling off the bike because when you hit a pothole going fast…you tend to go over the handlebars.”
Antonina cumulative doctrine prisoneros jobeth Leo janusz Dana armor
Im really Glad i ran across this website.Added allenchu.4rtofclean.com to my bookmark!
Ive meant to post something similar to this on my webpage and youve got given me a concept. Cheers.
tinder website , tinder website https://tinderdatingsiteus.com/
Please message me with a few tips about how you made this website look this good, Id be thankful. http://www.piano.m106.com
zithromax treats https://zithromaxes.com/ zithromax uso
tidalafil https://tadalisxs.com/ liquid tadalafil
erectile medicine new zealand silvasta https://plaquenilx.com/ erectile pills from canada
cloroquine https://chloroquineorigin.com/ is chloroquine over the counter
hydroxychloroquine sulfate 200 https://hydroxychloroquinex.com/ hydroxychloroquine 200 mg twice a day
The next time I come to this blog I will be sure to make better points.
This is incredible! Where do you discover this stuff?
Just a fast hello and also to thank you for discussing your ideas on this page. I wound up in your blog right after researching physical fitness connected issues on Yahoo guess I lost track of what I had been performing! Anyway I’ll be back once again within the long term to test out your blogposts down the road. Thanks!
masques veracious matrimoniale coding albuin fucking abramowitz snowden ethier
Nie odnajdziesz spokoju unikajac zycia. – Virginia Woolf
Prawdziwy przyjaciel to nie ten, kto osusza lzy twoje, Niczm jak Drapiezne lwy Tolstoje, ale ten, kto nie pozwala ci ich wylewac, innym zabrania sie z Ciebie wysmiewac E. F. Teixeira & Zeroo Cool..
http://www.metale.xmc.pl
is a surprisingly transparent way to gain access to more types of.
I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
Notable web blog, Talented comments that I can tackle. Im moving forward and can apply to my current job as a cat sitter, which is very fulfilling, but I have to additional expand. Kind Regards
Mate! This blog site is awesome. How do you make it look like this ?
Nie mysl, ze wrlg cie podziwia. On jedynie poszukuje twego slabego punktu. V. Butulescu.
Brawo tak trzymac. Widac, ze dbasz o merytoryczne wpisy na Twoim blogu, Dzieki i zapraszam do siebie…
Mary Higgins Clark You Don’T Own Me Epub Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Book Reading Level
Feel free to visit my website … pdf list (https://dingssofunin1985.netlify.app)
You said it well! https://www.kamagradr.com kamagra 100 Asjpu38
Nice post. Intriguing subject and approach. Ill be coming back some time within the not too distant future.
I was just chatting with my coworker about this today at lunch . Don’t remember how we got on the subject in fact, they brought it up. I do recall eating a wonderful steak salad with cranberries on it. I digress
cialis
Thanks for giving this kind of great subject material on your web site. I came across it on the search engines. I will check to come back whenever you publish more aricles.
i have checked this site a couple of times now and i have to say that i find it quite good actually. keep the nice work up!
You actually suggested it very well. https://www.kamagradr.com kamagra oral jelly pas cher Izjp98g
viagra
sugarhouse casino online empire city online casino vegas slots
very good most of your articles, many years of quality posts, i admire you in many things and i disagree in others, but still love your posts. Free Japan
Im curious if you ever have problems with what people post? Honestly the internet used to be like a different place, except that recently it seems to have become better. What are your thoughts?
You actually revealed that very well! https://www.withoutbro.com/# differences between cialis viagra Yqwdy72
2cw4d 3dz8s kuj8
generic viagra
Truly a lot of fantastic info.. https://withoutshort.com
This definitely be the next preference. You are perfect, theme team. I Really enjoy the system, fonts along with the perfect subject. Thanks for a great valuable design. Great job!