A great Canadian-born venture has gone international, from a successful beginning in Montreal, Quebec. Bixi, a bicycle sharing service, has won contracts to set up the sharing program in Boston, Massachusetts and London, England. Representatives from Bixi have also been on an international tour, showcasing the program in Toronto, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Seattle, and now, New York.
According to Alain Ayotte, spokesman for Stationnement de Montreal, the organization behind Bixi, people are showing tremendous interest in the program. “People are very, very interested in bike sharing and want to know more about it. So, in New York, there’s a lot of questions, and a lot of people interested in seeing the system,” said Ayotte.
Ayotte is also very proud that a Quebec product has garnered so much international attention, and rightly so. The bicycles are completely domestic, all made in Quebec, from the actual frame to the technical platforms and terminal assemblage. The technology itself comes from Montreal.
The new public bike system is a perfect alternative to auto transit, and can complement public transit systems due to easy access and wide availability within city centers. It’s available to everyone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as long as they’re 14 years of age or older, with a minimum height of 1.24 meters. In Montreal, the system operates from May to November, then shuts down for the harsh winter months.
It’s a perfect system, with ‘convenience’ and ‘green’ written all over it. Take one when you need it, leave it when you arrive at your destination. For a trip on the fly or part of a daily routine, Bixi is changing the way we commute, one city at a time.
BIXI by the numbers
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In the context of today’s world, ‘consuming’ and ‘balance’ in the same sentence seems to be an oxymoron.
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I think Bixi is a great system – definitely the way of the future. I’m looking forward to seeing Bixi come to Toronto.
I’ve also documented some of the kinks they are working out in the Montreal Bixi system when I gave it a trial run last month: http://www.theurbancountry.com/2009/07/bixi-montreals-bicycle-sharing-system.html