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Bixi takes on Montreal
Bixi takes on Montreal
Posted: 02 May 2009 10:35 AM PDT Large scale bike-sharing programs have been operating in Europe for a while now, but on May 12 Montreal will become the first city in North America with a large scale bike-sharing program. The program has been dubbed Bixi, a combination of the words Bike and Taxi. The torontoist.com says: When Paris opened the Vélib bike sharing program, it changed the mentality of drivers overnight when they were forced to adjust to an additional 10,000 bikes suddenly sharing the road. Likewise, non- cyclists could now see cycling as safe enough to be a viable mass transit option, and the huge number of available bikes and station- hubs densely dotting the city ensured there would always be a bike nearby. The article goes on to say: Little details (of Bixi), go a long way in making skeptics (of bike sharing programs) into believers. Integration into existing mass transit options makes it part of a larger system. Real-time availability updates and the ability to reserve a bike online—options Veolia Transportation provides its clients—mean a bike is available where and when you need one. A built-in bike lock means you can make quick stops between hubs. Pricing options—such as the common principle of the first thirty minutes being free, then increasing fares for each subsequent half hour—make it appealing to casual users. A modular system of station-hubs means hubs can be created, reconfigured, or moved in minutes. They can be removed for the winter months or for street maintenance. New stations can be established wherever demand— even the short-term demand of special events—warrants them. Furthermore, movable hubs don’t require the burdensome expense of excavation or electrical hook-up to the city grid, so their added flexibility actually comes at a savings in the cost of a system’s operation. While the program is already operating on a smaller scale, the program gets a big jump on May 12 with 300 stations and 3000 bikes! With the cost of $78 (taxes included) for an annual membership, it seems like if you really need a bike longer than 1 1/2yrs you could just buy a used bike for $125 and end up spending less money in the long run. Bixi’s pricing structure was created to encourage short trips. According to Bixi: …usage fees encourage frequent utilization for short periods of time. You therefore have to subscribe or acquire a 24-hour access to use the service. For every trip, the first 30 minutes are free. Of the Bixi bike-share program, the torontoist goes on to say: Stationnement de Montreal, an all-profits-back-to-the-city parking authority, realized that its parking lots already contained the space and technology necessary to run a bike sharing program. With the city’s encouragement (but not its funding), Stationnement de Montreal invested the start-up capital and is pursuing the project as a self- sufficient operation. They expect to run a deficit in the first year and break even in all subsequent years. It’s an ambitious proposal since no system in the world has yet broken even, but Montreal seems well-positioned to be the first. They’ve also found ways of cutting operating costs, such as the use of modular station-hubs. Perhaps most importantly, by being a pioneer, Montreal has developed a turn-key system (and expertise) that can be profitably exported in part or in whole to other municipalities. Bixi’s versatility and ease of use for anyone should help it attract new cyclists, and should even help reduce the number of cars on the road. According to Wikipedia, Montreal began a limited pilot project of Bixi bike-sharing bicycles in fall 2008.[13] Bixi is an effort to encourage locals and tourists to make use of the city’s already well-established network of bike paths[14]. The rental bicycles will be available from depots located throughout the city, where bikes can be rented from automated stations using a credit card.[15] The Public Bike System - as the official municipal entity will be known - estimates that by 2009, 2,400 bicycles (Bixi is claiming 3000) will be deployed at 300 depots throughout the metro area. The fee schedule is designed to discourage day-trippers. In 2008 the Bixi program was ranked by Time Magazine as the 19th best invention in their 50 Best Inventions of 2008. Lets hope that the bikes of the Bixi bike-sharing program don’t fall victim to ‘Bixi-Extreme’ like these unfortunate Velib bikes in Paris did. Go Bixi or go home… |
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Bixi takes on Montreal
In article ,
Ablang writes: Bixi takes on Montreal Posted: 02 May 2009 10:35 AM PDT Large scale bike-sharing programs have been operating in Europe for a while now, but on May 12 Montreal will become the first city in North America with a large scale bike-sharing program. The program has been dubbed Bixi, a combination of the words Bike and Taxi. The torontoist.com says: When Paris opened the V=E9lib bike sharing program, it changed the mentality of drivers overnight when they were forced to adjust to an additional 10,000 bikes suddenly sharing the road. Likewise, non- cyclists could now see cycling as safe enough to be a viable mass transit option, and the huge number of available bikes and station- hubs densely dotting the city ensured there would always be a bike nearby. Any potential bike-sharing program in Vancouver or Victoria is complicated by British Columbia's mandatory helmet law. cheers, Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
#3
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Bixi takes on Montreal
On May 4, 8:03*pm, (Tom Keats) wrote:
In article , * * * * Ablang writes: *Bixi takes on Montreal Posted: 02 May 2009 10:35 AM PDT Large scale bike-sharing programs have been operating in Europe for a while now, but on May 12 Montreal will become the first city in North America with a large scale bike-sharing program. The program has been dubbed Bixi, a combination of the words Bike and Taxi. The torontoist.com says: When Paris opened the V=E9lib bike sharing program, it changed the mentality of drivers overnight when they were forced to adjust to an additional 10,000 bikes suddenly sharing the road. Likewise, non- cyclists could now see cycling as safe enough to be a viable mass transit option, and the huge number of available bikes and station- Good point Tom. As that alone is a contentious issue, I'll leave it alone, but hinders (and really does complicate matters as you say) our city as a large- scale bicycle-friendly city. hubs densely dotting the city ensured there would always be a bike nearby. Any potential bike-sharing program in Vancouver or Victoria is complicated by British Columbia's mandatory helmet law. cheers, * * * * Tom -- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca |
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