Bixi Montreal

Bixi

Overview
Owner	City of Montreal
Locale	Montreal, Quebec
Transit type	Bicycle sharing system
Number of stations	452 (June 2016)
Annual ridership	3,214,867 (2014)
Website	https://montreal.bixi.com
Operation
Began operation	2009
Number of vehicles	5,220 (June 2016)

Bixi (styled as BIXI in some marketing pieces) is a public bicycle sharing system serving Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

Launched in May 2009, it is North America's first large-scale bike sharing system and the original Bixi system. Bixi filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of 2014 as the company started experiencing financial difficulties in late 2013.^[1][2] The city of Montreal then bought Bixi’s Montreal assets for $11.9 million in February 2014 and created BIXI Montreal, a non-profit entity to run the bike sharing operations.^[3] Following the purchase of the company's international division by Bruno Rodi in April 2014, it was renamed PBSC Urban Solutions. After buying a large number of Rodi’s shares, Luc Sabbatini became PBSC’s majority stockholder and current CEO.^[4]

The name

Bixi is a hybrid between "Bicycle" and "Taxi" to underline the concept of being able to use a bicycle just like a taxi. The name was coined by Michel Gourdeau who won a public competition to find the best name for the service when it was first introduced in Montreal. The prize for the winner was a Bixi pass for life.

System components

A complete station is made up of a pay station, bikes, and bike docks (where the bikes are kept), which are fitted into modular platforms that are powered by solar panels. These platforms are the base and electronic ports for pay stations and bike docks. Bike stations can be created, expanded, configured and removed in about half an hour, monitored by a real-time management system. Excavation or preparatory work is not required, allowing the installation of a bike station as an addition to on-street parking.

Bike dock and locking system

Station at Boulevard René-Lévesque

Bike docks are used to store and lock bikes. These modular docking stations are formed by a combination of groups of four docks. The bike dock's modularity allows a pay station to be used in the place of a single dock. Maintenance and repair of the system is simple because of a removable module present in every docking station which contains the locking system and all necessary parts that allow the system to function. In case of repairs, this module can be replaced with an identical one immediately, reducing the down-time of the system. The locking system is based on an energy efficient motor used in the medical sector. The principal inventor of these systems is Charles Khairallah,^[5] president of Robotics Design,^[6][7][8][9] with co-inventor Michel Dallaire, president of Michel Dallaire Industrial Design.^[10]

A Bixi pay station.

Pay station

Users can rent a bike using a subscriber key (a "Bixi key") obtained through a long-term online subscription (30 days or annual) or an access code provided by the pay station (24-hour or 72-hour access). Pay stations are touchscreen-operated and only accept credit cards. A button is used to notify Bixi mechanics of bicycles requiring servicing.

The bike

The bicycles are utility bicycles with a unisex step-through frame.

The one-piece aluminum frame and handlebars hide cables in an effort to protect them from tampering and harsh weather conditions. The heavy-duty tires are designed to be puncture-resistant and are filled with nitrogen gas to maintain proper pressure for longer.^[11] Twin LED rear lights are found inside the frame, and the sturdy frame weighs approximately 18 kg (40 lb). The bikes are designed by industrial designer Michel Dallaire and built in the Saguenay, Quebec region by Cycles Devinci, with aluminum provided by Rio Tinto Alcan.^[12]

Rates

In order to use the system, users need to take out a subscription, which allows the subscriber an unlimited number of rentals under 30 minutes for 1 day and 3 days subscriptions, and 45 minutes for 1 month and 1 year subscriptions. A trip that lasts longer than this no-charge time period gets additional charges, on an increasing price scale. The increasing price scale is meant to keep the bikes in circulation. Subscriptions can be purchased at $7 per day, $15 for 3 days (at a pay station only), $30,25 per month or $80,50 per year.

Montreal Rates (not including the subscription):^[13]

Development

Stationnement de Montréal

The project was included in the transportation plan for the City of Montreal, which aimed at encouraging active means of transportation such as bicycle. The program is run by the city's parking authority, Stationnement de Montréal.^[14]

Other developers

• 8D Technologies developed the entire technological platform behind the Bixi system, including the wireless bike station terminals, the RFID bike dock technology and all software systems.^{[15][16][17][18]} The system runs on solar energy to reduce environmental impact and maximize the system’s overall energy efficiency. 8D also created the Spotcycle bike-share smartphone app that locates and shows the status of bike stations close to the users.^[19]
• Michel Dallaire created the design of the physical components.^[20][21]
• Robotics Design created the modular bike dock and the intelligent locking system.^[22]
• Cycles Devinci manufactures Bixi bikes in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec.^[23]
• Rio Tinto Alcan is the title sponsor of the BIXI program, as well as providing aluminium for the bikes.^[12]
• Morrow Communications.^[24]
• Michel Gourdeau: suggested the name Bixi, a portmanteau of bicycle and taxi, which was selected by a majority of the people who participated in a contest organized by the city of Montreal.

Station network

The location of a Bixi bike station is determined by several parameters, including population density, points of interest and activities (universities, bike paths, other transportation networks, and data on travel patterns of the general public. In 2009, 5,000 bikes were deployed in Montreal through a network of pay stations located mainly in the boroughs of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, the Plateau-Mont-Royal and Ville-Marie, spilling over into parts of Outremont and the South West. As of 2011, the system has spread to Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, Ahuntsic, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Westmount and Verdun.

Difficulties

Montreal's BIXI system experienced some initial difficulties less than two months after its introduction in 2009, with damage and vandalism to some of the bikes. The La Presse newspaper reported on July 5, 2009 that one in five bikes had been damaged and 15% of bike racks are defective. Stationnement de Montréal communications director Michel Philibert stated the organization plans to reinforce racks and is testing prototype designs.^[25] Designer Michel Dallaire stated it never occurred to him that people would try to break the stations to steal bikes.^[21] There have since been no significant damage or vandalism issues reported in any of the installations of BIXI.

The program experienced many serious financial problems over its lifetime, including surmounting debts, a breach of contract lawsuit, and mismanagement.^{[26][27][28][29][30]} Most notably, when the city of Montreal was forced to sell off the profit-making international division, since the city by law cannot operate such a business.^[31] Eventually, this contributed to the company filing for bankruptcy in January 2014.^{[32][33][34][35]} The international division was renamed PBSC Urban Solutions and continued to extend its activities in several countries including United States,^[36][37] Canada^[38] and Mexico.^[36][39]

In popular culture

• The Montreal rap group Da Gryptions had a viral hit song and video in the summer of 2010 titled "The Bixi Anthem"^[40] which was a tribute to the bike system.

See also

• Bixi
• Bicycle sharing system
• List of bicycle sharing systems
• Utility cycling - Short-term hire schemes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bixi (Montreal).

• Official website