Bixi Bikes

[bond_james_bond]

Has anyone tried these yet? Do they come with a helmet?

http://www.bixi.com/home
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/today-is-the-day-bixi-debuts.php

Montreal merchants are complaining about Bixi bike stations destroying parking spots, and potentially scaring away customers.

http://www.cjad.com/news/565/926914

 

[neverbored]

... and if you google a little bit about the Bixi experience in Paris has turned into a nightmare. Vandalist, theft etc...

I don't think it will work here too well either. Good idea... bad people.

 

[naughtylady]

As anyone who already owns a bike in Montreal already knows:
It is the fastest mode of transportation to get around the city.
Faster than your car or public transport because of traffic and parking.

It is a good concept, but I fear neverbored is right: there will be problems with theft and with vandalism.

Also it should accept Interact since not everyone uses CC

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[master_bates]

Its another cash grab disguised by promoting the environment

I'm fed up of bikers not respecting traffic laws something should really be

done about that (crossing red lights, not stopping at signs, going wrong way)

 

[Porter]

X2 on that..

rant on

Instead of spending another 100 million on a Montreal wannabe paris concept, maybe they could spend the money on the poor families that are having trouble feeding their kids !!!!

I would like to ride that bike up Tremblay's rear end until the handle bars have fully penetrated. Maybe then the bell will sound a bit better.

rant off

 

[johnmbot]

all other issues aside, it doesn't sound cost effective for the consumer.

"Subscribing to the service will cost $78 per year, quite a bit more than Vélib's 30 Euro ($45) annual subscription fee, and for a much shorter year. Bixi's first 30 minutes will be offered for free and at $1.50 per half hour after that - the per day fee is $5."

 

[naughtylady]

all other issues aside, it doesn't sound cost effective for the consumer.

"Subscribing to the service will cost $78 per year, quite a bit more than Vélib's 30 Euro ($45) annual subscription fee, and for a much shorter year. Bixi's first 30 minutes will be offered for free and at $1.50 per half hour after that - the per day fee is $5."

EEK! I did not check out the costs! Heck it is cheaper to just buy a bike if you are going to use it almost daily; or even just on weekends! It should be an annual fee (though $78 seems high to me) OR a per day fee; but not both!

Ronnie,
Naughtylady

 

[Ducon]

Instead of spending another 100 million on a Montreal wannabe paris concept, maybe they could spend the money on the poor families that are having trouble feeding their kids !!!!

If you can't afford kids, use contraception. Don't blame the mayor for incompatibilities between your income and your family planning.

As for the $78 a year being too expensive... WHAT ???
How much does a decent bike cost and how many years can you keep it until it gets stolen??
How much does a yearly metro pass cost?
How much does your car cost?? or a motorbike??
seriously... what the hell is cheaper than $78 a year??? a pair of shoes?

I'm sure there will be vandalism, but we shouldn't let vandals get in the way.
Same thing for traffic offenders.
We have laws and cops, if you assume they won't work well that's your opinion, and it's not an excuse for bitching about a new transportation option.

 

[metoo4]

The point made was that these bikes are ment for short term transportation from point A to point B, not for touring around town. It's not mainly aimed at tourists but to locals who can't bother with a bike maintenance, have no space to store a bike ect but still need one once in a while. They made it very clear about the short term part, insisting that's the cause of the price going up after 30 minutes. They said if somebody need a bike for longer period or for touring, they should use a commercial bike rental company.

They also said in Paris, the bikes were partially paid with publicity on the bikes/stands and they didn't want to go that route here.

Those aren't my opinion, only what was posted in the paper.

 

[Ben Dover]

This system has so many holes in it, that it must have been designed by politicans. The prices are stupid. I can buy a bike from Walmart for $79 and ride it all day and night whenever and wherever I want and then donate it charity at the end of the year for a nice deduction and repeat same steps year after year. what do people do with their bixi-bikes when they want to ride them somewhere where there is no station to return it to? What about locks? Who is going to maintain these bikes? The same people who maintain our roads and bridges? I hope not... Otherwise the first bixi-related injury or fatality is only days away. The last place I want to spend one cent is with the city of Montreal who will work tirelessly to ensure that any such program is a boondogle of waste. My prediction is that future, poorly planned, environmentally guised cash grabs like this will be referred to as "another bixi"

No thanks Bixi...


BD

 

[oobe]

I'm fed up of bikers not respecting traffic laws

The traffic laws are only designed with cars in mind, and often don't make sense for bikes. Hence people use common sense over the Law.

 

[metoo4]

The traffic laws are only designed with cars in mind, and often don't make sense for bikes. Hence people use common sense over the Law.

But common sense doesn't exist for a lot of bicycle drivers...

• Popping-out between cars,
• driving on crowded sidewalks,
• wrong ways when there's definitely no space for them,
• running red lights without even slowing down to look,
• swerving left and right -without watching for cars already beside them- in order to avoid small cracks the racetrack tires of their bikes can't handle, instead of riding with proper tires,
• and there's a shitload more!

That's only a small fraction of the lack of common sense displayed by some cyclist, sadly a big part of them...

 

[master_bates]

The traffic laws are only designed with cars in mind, and often don't make sense for bikes. Hence people use common sense over the Law.

I disagree

Why shouldnt a bike obey traffic road signs?

Are they not a part of the road?

Stop signs

Red Lights

Going with traffic instead of into it

 

[GTA refugee]

I was on a narrow street in the Plateau today, and they were installing a Bixi rack. The street normaly has a row of cars parked on each side and there is a narrow lane for the cars to pass in the center. The racks looks like you will need to take up 3 car spaces on one side of the street and render another 3 car spaces useless on the other side of the narrow street. I think in the long run the Bixi system will cost more than it takes in. At $20 a month or $70 for a season pass to use these bikes how can they expect to make a profit?

 

[bond_james_bond]

2000 more bikes, 100 more stations

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/07/03/montreal-bixi-2000-more.html

 

[voyageur]

I'm actually quite happy with the announced extension. They are proposing stations in my neighborhood now.

I already own a bike, have a bus pass, and a membership with Communauto. This service fills a gap where I can now take the metro somewhere, then hop a bike for a short distance, or do one way point to point from home.

 

[newman1]

that is why ur name is voyageur...coz u travel using different ways..LOL

 

[rumpleforeskiin]

The proof's in the pudding and I'm seeing the pudding all over the city. I bring my bike to Montreal and leave my car parked until I leave. As I rolled about the city this past weekend, I saw Bixies all over the place, in use by both tourists and locals, each and every one reducing the traffic on the streets.

 

[Hypocycloid]

As a lifelong cyclist, for pleasure, transportation, and recreation - I feel compelled to weigh in. A great idea, very well built bikes, by Devinci, a reputable Quebec based framebuilder. I am seeing them everywhere, I was skeptical, because, well, anyone who rides bikes, probably owns one, right, WRONG. People are using them from metro to metro, on the mont royal, downtown- EVERYWHERE! great news right!
Only one problem, theft, there are more than 50 Bixis missing, remember, this is Montreal, where if its stealable, it gets stolen, and that is sad, something nice gets tainted by criminals, I have seen this movie many times, these bike cost 2000$, but the racks, and vending system is complete nonsense, too many ways to circumvent the rules, supposedly these bikes have gps locaters in the downtube, this should make them trackable, and I would love to play "bike repo-man", but bike theft is an accepted practice here, and I hope it does not ruin the program. I have not ridden one aggresively, but I can testify that they are well built, with cables all running inside the tubing, chain is protected, brakes and lights are very effective, a bit heavy, but these are not XC bikes or touring bikes so weight is irrelevant. So people! stop stealing them, and Bixi - come up with a slightly better rack and vending, and we have a winner for all!

 

[metoo4]

Sad to say but the cost of theft is included in the rental price.

There's no money to be made by thiefs with these bikes. They are too specific-like. Even metal recyclers won't take the risk to take them for scrap. Mostly, I'd say the missing bikes were likely left in unauthorized spot by noncaring user.

I wouldn't be surprised if one person caused multiple bikes to go "missing" simply because there's no BIXI station close to where he lives and, since he is out late without bus service, the BIXI becomes attractive for one-way trips back home.

It's easy for any cop spotting a BIXI in an unserviced part of town to stop the driver and ask questions.