Bixi bike users in Montreal are getting a head start to the cycling season, the earliest in the non-profit’s 16-year history.
Bixi Montréal announced Tuesday that over half of its network is available to users starting today, with that number shooting up to 85 per cent next week. The system is expected to be fully operational by April 15, the date that usually marks the start of the cycling season.
“More than one in four Montrealers use Bixi,” said Sylvia Morin, Bixi Montréal’s interim president, adding that 2023 saw 576,000 users, up 31 per cent from 2022 and a 55 per cent jump from 2021.
Sophie Mauzerolle, the executive committee member in charge of mobility and transportation at the city of Montreal, said that more and more Montrealers are using the service, rain or shine, in part thanks to the city’s biking infrastructure making the mode of transport easier and safer.
Mauzerolle said the city will be investing in an additional 1,300 self-serve bikes and 32 stations in Montreal
This winter, Bixi also undertook a pilot project to test the bikes’ resilience to Montreal’s winter conditions and gauge rider demand.
The results of the pilot project, Mauzerolle said, showed Bixi users want year-round service, and cyclists will once again be able to pedal through the streets of Montreal next winter.
Bixi Montréal’s general manager, Christian Vermette, said the pilot project results surpassed initial expectations, with 53,000 people using the service between November and March.
According to a Bixi-led survey, nearly a quarter of members were retained through the winter, and 65 per cent of users — members and non-members — said the pilot project was their first winter biking experience.
Bixi says that cyclists using the service in Quebec will have more than 11,000 bikes to choose from in 2024 — including several thousand electric bikes — at some 930 stations across eight different cities in the province.