How To Make an Extra $6K a Month (It’s as Easy as Riding a Bike)

If you live in New York, you’ve probably heard of Citi Bikes. It’s an immensely popular bike-sharing program by Lyft that operates throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Hoboken and Jersey City.

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The official website claims it’s “the best way to get around.” Considering there are plans to expand to 36,000 bikes and more than 2,000 Citi Bike stations in 2025, this might not be that far off base.

Citi Bikes is more than the area’s “official bike share program.” It’s also touted as a fun — and affordable — alternative to taxis, walking, and the whole public transit system. It’s accessible, convenient and, for some people, a great way to earn additional income every month.

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Earn $6,000 a Month by Riding Bikes

Citi Bikes might not have been intended as a side hustle, but it’s certainly become that way for the dedicated few who know how to game the system. The New York Times even called it “the perfect New York hustle, a scam of subtle perfection.

The way it works is simple:

1. Borrow a Citi Bike.

2. Ride it a block — just one.

3. Wait about 15 minutes.

4. Ride it back to where you started.

As for earning money, that part’s a little more complicated.

Citi Bike’s goal is to offer seamless pickup and drop-off of its bikes — but things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes, someone going to work doesn’t have a place to leave their bike when they arrive. Others can’t find a bike when they need one during their lunch break or have errands to run with no time to waste.

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However, the program costs roughly $220 a year, and subscribers are none too happy with paying that much only to find no available bikes. That’s why Citi Bike started introducing various tactics and incentives to get bikes where they’re most needed.

One such program, introduced in 2016, is Bike Angels. This program essentially allows Citi Biker subscribers to move bikes themselves in exchange for points. After earning enough points, they can redeem them for a variety of things — from swag to membership discounts to gift cards. Some New Yorkers — later dubbed Power Angels — got so into this that they started competing with one another to win the most points.

Racking Up Points

Here are just a few ways to earn points:

• 4 points for taking a bike from a full station

• 4 points for docking a bike at an empty station

• 3x points for moving 4+ bikes within 24 hours

Each ride can earn as many as 24 points, which translates to a maximum of $4.80 per ride (with the 3x points).

Cutting ahead a few years, these “Power Angels” discovered how to game the system, analyzing the algorithm to see where they could earn the most and maximize those financial benefits. By working together, they found a way to exploit the system — called “station flipping” — and make some pretty good money.

Gaming the System

Here’s just one account of how, back in August 2024, seven Bike Angels made money riding bikes:

• Each one used a special blue key (awarded by Citi Bike) to unlock a bike at a docking station. They then rode it one block, docked it, ran back to their starting point to unlock another bike, and repeated the cycle.

• Knowing Lyft’s algorithm resets every 15 minutes (meaning new point values get awarded for each bike move), the Angels created a system in which one station would be totally full while the other (just one block away) would be empty.

• Viewing the empty docks as being in high-demand, the algorithm offered $4.80 per bike returned to the empty station. The riders then changed direction (each riding their bikes from the full station to the empty one), earning the maximum incentive per ride.

As far as side hustles go, it’s inventive, but not without its challenges.

That said, one particular Bike Angel, known as Tommy, was said to have earned around $60,000 in 2023 by flipping bikes. In the early part of September, another Angel (username: NS143) earned roughly $3,800 or 19,394 points.

Most don’t earn nearly that much, perhaps enough to pay some bills, and taxes still have to be paid. But all in all? For those who are dedicated and willing to put in the work, it’s not a bad hustle.

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Sources

• NYC.gov, “Mayor Adams Announces Major Expansion of Citi Bike Service in Outer Boroughs as Ridership Continues to Soar“

• The New York Times, “The Hustlers Who Make $6,000 a Month by Gaming Citi Bikes“

• Citi Bike NYC, “Citi Bike Annual Membership | Citi Bike NYC“

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How To Make an Extra $6K a Month (It’s as Easy as Riding a Bike)