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Bike Share Rollout Delayed

By Jill Colvin | July 16, 2012 6:36pm
The Citibike rollout has been delayed until at least August.
The Citibike rollout has been delayed until at least August.
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DNAinfo/Jill Colvin

MANHATTAN — The city’s long-awaited bike share program has already hit a speed bump.

The program's rollout has been delayed by at least a month, until August, the Department of Transportation announced Monday.

"We're working on the launch plan and will update the public as soon as we finalize all the details,"  DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow said in a statement.

The DOT did not immediately respond to questions about the cause of the delay.

The city announced the new Paris-style program's launch with great fanfare earlier this summer. At the time, officials said the program's 10,000 new bikes, docked at 600 pickup and drop-off stations, would start hitting the streets in July.

But questions began swirling in recent weeks as the clock ticked down with no sign of the new bike displays.

"Not yet. Still working. Trying to get it done," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during his weekly radio show last Friday when asked about the launch date.

"With any big system, there's always things that you've got to make sure work before you turn it on. And we're not going to turn it on until it's ready," he said.

News of the delay was first reported by the website Streetsblog.org, which noticed a curious tweet from the program's official account.

"Look for the launch in August," tweeted @CitibikeNYC in response to one user's question last week.

"You'll be able to sign up for memberships next month," @CitybikeNYC wrote in another response. "Check back here for more updates."