How to Earn $6,000/Month Riding Citi Bikes—The Ultimate New York Hustle!
If you live in New York, you’ve likely seen Citi Bikes around the city. This popular bike-sharing program, run by Lyft, operates in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Hoboken, and Jersey City.
With over 27,000 bikes and more than 1,700 stations, it’s a convenient and affordable option for getting around.
Citi Bikes is advertised as the area’s official bike-share program and has become a fun, cost-effective alternative to taxis and public transit.
It’s easy to access and convenient for many people, but for some, it’s also a way to earn up to $6,000 a month.
Earning money with Citi Bikes isn’t something everyone knows about, but some dedicated New Yorkers have found ways to make it work.
The New York Times even described it as the perfect hustle, calling it “a scam of subtle perfection.” Here’s how they do it:
First, they borrow a Citi Bike and ride it just one block. Then, they wait for about 15 minutes before riding it back to the original spot. But the real trick is in how they earn money.
Citi Bike wants its system to work smoothly, with bikes being available when needed and stations not overcrowded. But this doesn’t always go as planned, so they offer incentives to users who help fix these problems.
To keep customers happy and make sure bikes are where they’re needed, Citi Bike created the Bike Angels program. Launched in 2016, this program gives subscribers points for moving bikes to stations where they’re most needed.
These points can be exchanged for rewards like discounts, gift cards, and other benefits. Some people, later called Power Angels, took it seriously and started competing for the most points.
There are several ways to earn points in the Bike Angels program. You get 4 points for taking a bike from a full station and another 4 for docking it at an empty one.
If you move more than four bikes in 24 hours, you earn triple points. This means each ride can earn up to 24 points, which is worth a maximum of $4.80 per ride when you factor in the triple points.
Some of these Power Angels discovered how to use the program’s algorithm to their advantage, figuring out where they could make the most points and, in turn, the most money.
They developed a method called “station flipping” to maximize their earnings. By understanding how the system worked, they turned a simple bike-sharing program into a profitable side hustle.
For example, back in August 2024, a group of seven Bike Angels figured out how to earn money by riding Citi Bikes.
Each rider used a special key given by Citi Bike to unlock a bike, rode it just one block, docked it, then returned to unlock another bike and repeated the cycle.
Since Citi Bike’s algorithm resets every 15 minutes, it awarded new point values each time a bike was moved, allowing these riders to earn $4.80 per bike move.
These riders managed the stations strategically, ensuring one was full while another just a block away was empty.
The algorithm recognized the empty station as a high-demand spot and rewarded the riders with the maximum points for bringing bikes there.
Not everyone makes big money with this strategy. One Bike Angel named Tommy reportedly earned around $60,000 in 2023 using this method.
Another Angel, going by the username NS143, made about $3,800 or 19,394 points in early September.
While this hustle isn’t easy, and taxes still need to be paid on any earnings, it’s a creative way to make extra income for those willing to put in the effort.
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For some, it’s a reliable way to pay bills and save money, turning something as simple as riding a bike into a lucrative side hustle.