BIXI: The First Public Bike System in Canada

Don’t be surprised if you see the mayor riding a bike around the city, wearing his suit and dorky helmet. If you do see him, give him a wave as he is probably on another one of his crusades promoting BIXI; the new public bike system in the city accessible at all times to anybody with a credit card. You have probably seen them lined up on street corners on the BIXI bike racks; a scene we only thought we’d see in Europe. We must admit that this along with the closing of Saint-Paul Street for pedestrians is a great initiative by the city of Montreal, which is discretely phasing out cars from the downtown Montreal core. While this might frustrate many, it is probably the most innovative approach from a city in all of Canada, which are typically behind a decade in these types of innovations from European cities. Montreal is the North American gateway to European trends, just as Miami is for South American ones. The city’s European flair is the right fit for this type of venture and our sincere wish is that this project evolves every year. The truth is that right now, BIXI is more of a trend, and an expensive one. Taking the metro would probably be faster and cheaper, but riding a BIXI sure is something different that’s also good for your health.

The bikes cost the city about two thousand dollars and are claimed to be theft proof due to innovative technology. Get this: the bikes are tracked through GPS and if you don’t return it on time, they will slow down on there own. So if you spot a guy looking like he is climbing a mountain with his BIXI even on flat pavement, chances are he is trying to steal it, or his credit card maxed out. There are 3000 BIXI bikes with 300 different stations. The annual membership fee to have access to the bikes is 78$ which is good for 365 days between the month of May through November. There are also monthly memberships for 28$ and a 24hr access for 5$. Usage is free under 30 minutes and exponentially rise for every 30 minutes used. This pretty much means that people are encouraged to use the bike for short runs. To give you an idea, if you’re thinking of doing the Tour de l’Ile de Montreal with a BIXI, it will cost you around 40$, in other words, go buy a used bike from a garage sale.

Comments