Bixi bike rental system coming to Vancouver
The Bixi bike rental system is coming to Vancouver in 2011.
City Hall is intent on launching the made-in-Montreal system next year, which allows users to rent public bikes at stations around the city. The system is primarily geared towards people looking to get from point A to point B in urban environments.
The bike can be dropped off at any station and the system is said to be fairly theft-proof since users are required to pay a yearly fee via credit card, and the bikes are quite heavy and distinctive. They are manufactured by Montreal bicycle maker Devinci.
It costs $78 a year to join Bixi, plus fees for trips over 30 minutes. The first half-hour is “free,” which is more than enough time to get from one end of downtown to another.
200 stations are planned initially for the launch, in downtown, Mount Pleasant, Kits, Fairview, Commercial Drive and UBC.
Since helmets are mandatory in B.C., Bixi is considering distributing them along with yearly subscriptions, and also offering them for rent at shops near the docking stations. You can learn more about how Bixi works by clicking here.
I love how this keeps getting posted and reposted based on…nothing that I can find. City Hall hasn’t yet put a piece of paper out that suggests this is really going to happen yet. Miro wrote an article in the Vancouver Sun and people keep referring to it, but there’s not a single source.
Bixis are a really good idea and work wonderfully well in Montreal (I’ve used them and it’s so easy to get around town), however I don’t think they’ll get anywhere near the same uptake here because of the helmet issue. Stop making helmets mandatory and you’ll get more people riding bixis – and reduce the number of cars in the city.
I’m a senior, used Bixi in Montreal and Toronto a few days ago…. felt safe, no battling traffic, depots within 30 min. ride, wonderful way to see the city.
We are visiting Vancouver late in July, 2011. Does anyone know if the Bixi bikes are available ?
used bixi in montreal. it sucked! many of the touch screens were broken, and we got stranded at the most distant station. the system wouldn’t give us bikes to ride. beware!
[...] company BIXI, which launched in Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston in the past few months, may be expanding to Vancouver in the near future, and plans for a 10,000-fleet New York City launch are set for next [...]