Montreal became the latest city to launch a self-service bicycle rental service on Sunday when 40 Bixi prototypes hit the streets.
The name Bixi is derived from bicycle and taxi. When the program undergoes its full-launch in Spring 2009, Montreal will have 2,400 rental bicycles available at 300 stations around the city.
Because of that city's harsh weather, the Bixis only will be available from mid-April through mid-November, however.
The program is similar to the well-known Velib program in Paris, where 20,000 bikes are available for rent from docking stations. Users gain access to the bikes by swiping a card, then return them to a station near their destination.
No advertising
Washington DC recently launched a small-scale bike rental program, joining Paris, Barcelona, Lyon and a few other large cities. Unlike most other self-service bike rental programs, however, the Montreal program is not owned and operated by an outdoor-advertising company.
The $15 million Bixi program was funded by Stationnement de Montreal, the company that manages on-street parking. The company is seeking membership fees from users to pay for the program.
There are three types of membership; annual – $78, monthly – $28 and daily – $5. Then the first 30 minutes of use are free, as the program wants to encourage short trips on the bicycles, and the next 30 minutes costs $1.50. The fare increase steeply after that.
The Bixi bikes are heavy duty urban vehicles designed by Michel Dallaire. They weigh about 44 pounds and are made from recycleable aluminum. The cables and chains for the three-speed bicycles are enclosed and the front and rear lights are powered by a dynamo.
The 300 docking stations will be powered by solar energy.
The districts that will get Bixi stations next spring are Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Plateau-Mont-Royal and Ville-Marie as well as parts of Outremont and the Sud-Ouest.
More information at the Bixi website; also at Montreal Gazette and Canadian Press.
China
Meanwhile, Shanghai is strongly considering a Paris-style self-service bicycle program and launched a small-scale test this week.
Shanghai Morning Post reported the program will be expanded to 800 stands outside metro station exits and on 2,700 other sites in business and residential areas by 2012.
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