When visiting any large city, one of the first things people question is how to get around effectively without breaking the budget. Sometimes the answer is subway, others it’s taxi or bus, or even by foot. But the next time you’re in Montreal, you may want to say, “lets BIXI!”
BIXI is a new bicycle-sharing program Montreal launched in May 2009 the city hopes will be a successful example for others to follow. With a concept already popular in Europe, BIXI is the first of its kind in North America, and has been hailed by some as the world’s most innovative bicycle sharing program to date.
BIXI means literally “bike” plus “taxi”. And aside from the notoriously cold and long winters, Montreal is a perfect place for such a program because of its abundance of well-maintained bicycle paths that both encircle and slice through the city’s main thorough fairs.
How BIXI works
Getting a bike is easy. Simply stop at any of the 300+ strategically placed self-service BIXI bike stations around the city. Each station houses 10-20 bikes. Swipe your Visa or MasterCard for $5, click to agree to the 49 pages of Terms & Conditions (not kidding), and take your 4-digit code. Now choose a bike from the rack, plug in your code and be on your way!
Sounds pretty good so far. But here is where it gets complicated. The clock has started ticking and you have 30 minutes to get your bike to another BIXI rack and park it before being charged another $1.50 for the next 30 minutes, $3 for the second 30 minutes, and $6 an hour every hour after that. Do you hear the Wicked Witch’s demonic bicycle ride theme song in your head yet?
Ouch. Suffice it to say BIXI is best to use when you just want to jaunt about and drop a bicycle, perhaps to work, coffee, lunch, or more throughout the day. You can ride all 24 hours on your first $5 as long as you drop the bike and select a different one every 30 minutes at one of the locations.
A Cautionary Tale About One BIXI Experience BIXI seemed like the perfect solution for my family on a recent trip to Montreal. We made a point of trying out BIXI for the pure convenience and novelty. We easily found bikes to ride, and began our tour. The bikes were sturdy, comfortable and clean. But the stress-o-meter went through the roof when we, much like the Biblical Joseph and Mary, could not find an available place to take a rest before the clock ran out.
We had been headed to the popular St. Catherine’s Street for a bus tour and considered this a quick 20 minute pleasure ride. But soon we found ourselves racing around the busy city streets in search of a single open spot to drop even one of our four rented bikes. Perspiration and panic quickly set in as the clock ticked away and we became more and more desperate – riding on sidewalks, going against traffic, crossing against lights - you name it – to get our bikes parked and to our next destination on time. We came within a hair of missing our scheduled bus tour but eventually did find homes for all 4 bikes – each in a different location. The mad dash left us sweaty and a little reticent to pick up another BIXI in our 24-hour period, for fear we’d always be driving around all night long looking for an empty drop spot.
In the end – only you can decide – are you a risk taker?
Overall, BIXI provides a convenient, inexpensive, and very green way for visitors and locals alike to see the city’s top sights, or just get to work three out of four seasons a year (BIXI bikes are evidently not available in the coldest winter months). And the risk / reward? Well you’ll have to decide if the location you are headed is more popular than the one you are dropping – and maybe the city will improve its bike moving soon.
If you go – Pricing & Locations
Locals can purchase an annual pass for $78 or $28 a month. For day-trippers, the price is right at $5 for 24-hour access ( in 30-minute increments). Customers are charged an increasing hourly rate for any time beyond any single 30-minute period at an escalating price.
Expert tip: If you get stuck with your bike it turns out you CAN type a code into any full station to receive a 15-minute reprieve to find another station.
The other reason to enter your code at stations that are full is that it provides the system with data on how people are using it and what their needs are. This feedback is then used to improve the system, in the form of increasing station size, relocating it or adding more in the viscinity.
If you're on a tight schedule, you need to plan ahead when using Bixi. This means memorizing the location of a few stations near your destination in case your first choice is full. Taking the habit of choosing a route that will lead you passed nearby stations can also give you an idea of a neighbourhood's Bixi popularity, giving you the opportunity to park the bike sooner rather than in a panic later.
The best solution, however, is one only available to iPod Touch & iPhone users: a genius little app called Bixou. It gives you real-time info on how full or empty and how big or small each station is, which means no more surprises and no more panic. What's more, its use of GPS means you don't even need to plan ahead. Bixou will automatically show you the stations nearest to your current location, quickly making you aware of your options at any given moment.
Posted by: Louis | September 25, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Thanks for the helpful hints Louis! I certainly think BIXI would be on my
"frequently used" list if I lived in Montreal - but for a tourist the
concept of having a few extra drop spots in your back pocket isn't quite as
simple. Overall I think the program is great and wish it huge success. I
felt a little bad noting the BIXI bike panic part - especially as I learned
how new the program really was and thought it only fair to give the city
some time to figure their timing and heavy use spots out. But none the
less, sounds like it is a fair warning for many. Enjoy.
Posted by: Wendy | September 27, 2009 at 06:27 PM