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Citi Bike operator sheds name in rebrand

The company behind Citi Bike is kick-starting a rebrand after hitting speed bumps during its first 19 months running the city’s bike share system.

Bike share operator Alta is changing its name to Motivate now that the company is in the hands of investors tied to fitness giant Equinox and the real estate firm Related Companies.

Alta, which also runs bike shares in California’s Bay Area, Chicago and Washington, D.C., had a poor reputation managing Citi Bike.

After Alta’s takeover, Jay Walder, a transportation executive who ran New York and Hong Kong’s transit systems, became CEO in October and promised a turnaround for Citi Bike that would let it expand to new neighborhoods.

“Now, with the backing of new ownership, Motivate is positioned to deliver even better service to cities and bring bike share to scale,” Walder said in a statement.