Montreal bike-sharing service launches ‘new concept, never seen in North America’

Montreal’s bike-sharing service, Bixi, has launched a caller initiative. In definite locations, bikes will beryllium repaired adjacent a docking position to alteration nan magnitude of clip it takes to put them backmost successful circulation aft they break.

On Wednesday, Bixi inaugurated its first Carrefour Bixi, a motorcycle repair shop connected to a larger docking station.

It is located astatine La Fontaine Park, a celebrated spot for those who usage nan service, who opportunity location is simply a request for much infrastructure.

“Either it’s afloat bikes, aliases nary bikes, truthful it’s difficult to parkland sometimes,” says Myles Mattatall, a Bixi user.

The metropolis manages, repairs and dispatches 11,000 bikes astir Montreal. Up until Wednesday, they could only beryllium repaired astatine Bixi’s caput office.

The workload and nan proscription of bikes to and from nan main repair shop slowed down nan process significantly.

The Carrefour Bixi is an reply to nan issue. By 2027, Bixi wants to build six much distant repair shops successful nan boroughs, wherever they are astir popular.

Trending Now

Bikes that request insignificant repairs, specified arsenic tune-ups and tyre refills, will beryllium fixed location and beryllium put backmost connected nan roads overmuch much quickly. More superior repairs will still beryllium addressed astatine nan caput office, which will woody pinch a overmuch lighter workload.

Pierre-Luc Marier, Bixi’s integrated trading and communications director, says “users will spot an summation successful nan value of nan bikes.”

He adds that this inaugural is “a caller concept, ne'er seen successful North America successful nan bike-sharing industry.”

While Bixi will proceed pinch its plans to connection its services done nan year, nan Carrefour Bixi will beryllium closed during nan wintertime owed to little demand.