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The city of Montreal introduces the Bixi.

Sep 29th, 2008
by J.F..

The city of Montreal introduce the bixi to Montrealer’s during its car free day , mayor Tremblay stood in front of one of the bicycles, and announced the plan behind the Bixi. Montreal used similar urban bike rental
programs in Lyon and Paris which seem to be very popular with the public in these cities. Statistics show that people in these cities use the bikes for trip that last on average 18min, with this in mind the city based Montreal’s Bixi rental program on 30 minutes or less trip time. The city of Montreal’s parking authority has taken charge of the project, they have spent 15 million dollars on it so far, but they believe
that the program will be self sustaining and repay the initial investment quickly.
Here is quick overview of the way the rental of a bike will work, once you get your membership card
Bixi rental station

Bixi rental station

available in three different flavours.
1.       Daily membership:  $5
2.       Weekly membership: $28
3.       Annual membership: $78
Now that you have your membership card you can walk up to one of the 300 solar powered bike stands insert you card into the slot and ride away on your Bixi, once you get to your destination or to the closest bike station to your destination, if your trip took less than 30 minutes you put the bike back in the stand and walk to your final destination, if you trip lasted over 30 minutes the bike will cost you $1.50 for every 30 minutes you have the bike over and above the first half hour. What happens if you show up and there’s no room in the rack for your bike?  When this happens the bike station will tell you where the closest available open spot is.
I had the chance to look the Bixi over when they were on display at the Atwater market. The bikes are very well thought out; the bike has a three speed rear Shimano hub with front and rear drum brake, the cabling is all internal, and the Bixi is equipped with front and rear dynamo powered lights. The Bixi was designed for the urban rider; it’s equipped with a front rack equipped with a bungee cord.  The Bixi also has a chain guard to help keep your pant leg clean the chain passes through the chain stay to help keep the esthetics.  The only adjustment on the Bixi is the seat the handle bars are set to a comfortable position, as to fit everyone who
Bixi Bike Montreal

Bixi Bike Montreal

uses the bicycle. All and all this is a great idea and I hope it becomes a huge success, the only thing I would like to see is discount for people who use public transit and are members of car sharing services such as Communauto should get a discount or even get a free membership. I hope the Bixi program is a great success and the city of Montreal will expand the service further to the west and the East, have a great ride and be safe.

Bixi Bike front end

Bixi Bike front end

Posted in: Miscellaneous Cycling stories.
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1 Comment on “The city of Montreal introduces the Bixi.”

  1. #1 mycyclingtraining
    on Jan 30th, 2009 at 8:10 am

    This is cool! Thanks for posting this one.

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