Most of the people I know who use CitiBike use it as one leg of their commute. One of my coworkers, for example, takes the PATH in from New Jersey then bikes to the office from there.<p>In these cases you <i>could</i> buy a bike and leave it in the city, but there&#x27;s a very very serious risk of bike theft. It&#x27;s easier to pay for the CitiBike membership and not have to worry about it.