BIXI land

Montreal’s new bicycle taxi is
as cool as it is confusing

RIDE AWAY: Author (L) and Greenfield
give the BIXIs a whirl

by LUCAS WISENTHAL

While test-driving BIXIs with fixed-gear stalwart and former bike mechanic David Greenfield, the sight of bikes being parked or rented unfailingly elicited stares and questions from passersby—among them, a crazy dude at the corner of Parc and Mont-Royal who ran up to us shouting instructions on how to sign one out. And work all but ceased at the St-Laurent bike shop Le Yéti when two BIXIs rolled in.

For those who haven’t investigated the BIXI, it must be curiosity. For those who have, it could be confusion.

At bixi.com, a network map gives real-time info on how many bikes are available at the city’s 65 BIXI stations, to increase to 300 by June 7. But other information is murkier, like pricing. Basically, there are three membership options: One year, at a cost of $78; one month, at a cost of $28; and a $5 one-day membership. No matter what kind of membership you opt for, the half-hour charges are the same: Your first half-hour is free, then the charges increase incrementally, from $1.50, to $3 and finally to $6.

Cheating or being cheated?

A month- or year-long membership means signing up on the Web (info on the site, as well as at the stands, is all bilingual) and waiting about three business days for a BIXI key, which you activate online, then swipe at a station when you borrow a bike.

I had to call customer service to see about buying a one-day membership at a BIXI station. The representative said I could, and then matter-of-factly explained how to cheat the system.

To avoid racking up charges, she said, I’d need only return my bike to a station before the first half-hour was up. After waiting a few minutes, I could swipe my credit card again, giving me another free 30 minutes. While this works in theory, my $250 deposit—actually, $287.50 including tax and the $5 one-day fee—was mistakenly charged to my credit card. I’ll be refunded within a few business days, according to customer service.

Aside from such errors, the one-day membership has a serious drawback: Unlike the other options, it lets you take out only one bike per credit card. This could easily deter tourists who have more kids than they do cards, I said to Alain Ayotte, executive vice president of Stationnement de Montréal. He said they were working on the issue.

They’ve also had problems with people hitting a button on the stands that alerts a repair team about busted bikes. But I couldn’t figure that one out. And there’s a system in place to extend your bike time by 15 minutes if no free locks remain at your destination. Apparently a feature to direct you to the nearest one is forthcoming.

STATION TO STATION: BIXI by the mountain

All-terrain tank

At a BIXI station in Old Montreal, Greenfield and I bought one-day memberships and bikes, a process that took about two minutes. We selected “English” (the first time Greenfield did this, it gave him French) on the iPhone-size touch-screen, then hit the “bike” symbol, swiped our cards, printed our five-digit passwords, punched them into the bike racks, and we were off. In the interest of time, we didn’t read the entire 48-page list of terms and conditions, a predictable mess of legalese about the service.

Greenfield was immediately won over by the bike. So was I, once I got comfortable on it. Though heavy and slow, the three-speeder is well suited to urban riding. It can handle pretty much any terrain you’ll encounter in the city. We went from Old Montreal up to the Plateau without a problem. And despite its rigid, unforgiving frame—Greenfield likens the overbuilt bike to a tank—the BIXI could negotiate bumps, grass and stairs.

Just as the BIXI’s price structure discourages lengthy rides, so too does its seat, which keeps riders in an upright position. “You’re very aware of everything that’s going on,” Greenfield says, but “it’s not a bike that’s made to be ridden for hours and hours.”

Despite its clunkiness and cost (slightly higher than similar services in Paris and Lyon), Greenfield calls the BIXI “one of the best city bikes I’ve ever seen.” He’s already ordered a one-year membership to be able to access bicycles on days he leaves his at home.

“It’s Montreal,” he says. “Sunny day, riding up St-Denis or St-Laurent. All the women are out. You want to ride slow and have fun.”