My subscription laps a few weeks ago; it started the day after Memorial Day, as I was out of town the day of the official launch. I intend to renew, but I've just been waiting for the day when I need to use it again. That day might have been today; I have an after work errand for which it would have been convenient not to have my bike in tow. However, by 8:30am when I got up, pretty much the entire East Village and Lower East Side were devoid of bikes, without any to be had within at least a 10 minute walk of me. So, alas, it wasn't to be.

Of all the mishegas Citi Bike has gone through, I see balancing issues as the most difficult and intractable without any simple quick fixes, and one I can't really blame Citi Bike for. Every bike share city has the problem, and the only real solution is expensive, labor intensive moving bikes around. Higher density of station might help, but I can't see that changing. Even when money appears to expand the system, they're going to add new new neighborhoods, and not add to neighborhoods already covered.

I want to like bike share, and use it, but at the moment, the utility just isn't there.