Bike-Share Hero: Montreal’s Solar-Powered “Bixi” System

Via the Bike-Sharing Blog, this vid shows a modular bike-share station getting set up in what must be record time. It’s part of a trial system in Montreal called Bixi (contraction of "bike" and "taxi," rhymes with pixie), which launched last month and is set to ramp up with 2,400 bikes next April. Bike-Sharing Blog’s Paul DeMaio explains what sets Bixi apart:

One of the finer aspects of Bixi
is how easily its stations can be assembled. There is no demolition of
concrete or asphalt for the undergrounding of wires nor the need for an
electrical hook-up as Bixi is solar-powered.

Another great thing about this video: The soundtrack combo of 70s-style guitar riffs and Pomp and Circumstance.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Bixi Bankruptcy: What Does It Mean for American Bike-Share?

By Ben Fried |
The Montreal-based equipment supplier for several American bike-share systems, including Citi Bike, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday. It’s unclear exactly how the restructuring or sale of the company known as Bixi will play out, but the bankruptcy filing could accelerate the transition to more robust and reliable hardware and software for Citi Bike and other […]
STREETSBLOG USA

Why TIME Magazine Got the Bixi Story Wrong

By Ben Fried |
Major media have a habit of blowing bike-share problems out of proportion. Witness the 2009 BBC story that cast theft and vandalism as an existential threat to Velib in Paris. Five years later, Velib is still going strong. The most recent entry in the genre is Christopher Matthews’ misguided story on the Bixi bankruptcy in TIME. Headline: […]
STREETSBLOG USA

Alta Chief: Bike-Share Expansions Unlikely in 2014

By Payton Chung |
Despite continually growing ridership, Alta Bicycle Share-operated bike-share systems across America will probably not be adding bikes or docks this year. The bankruptcy of Montreal-based Public Bike Share Company, known as Bixi, which developed and manufactured the equipment that Alta’s systems use, has disrupted the supply chain that numerous cities were pinning their expansion plans […]

Should Alta Be Running NYC Bike-Share?

By Ben Fried |
With today’s report in the Daily News that Citi Bike operator Alta Bicycle Share is failing to meet several key performance targets, a short run-down of the current state of bike-share operations in New York City is in order. What we’ve learned since Citi Bike launched last May is that bike-share works in NYC. It […]
STREETFILMS

How a Massive Bike Tour Inspired Montreal to Become a Bike-Friendly City

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. |
Especially in the warmer months, Montreal is simply alive with street life and, of course, lots of bicycling. Its car-free spaces are inviting to everyone, and there’s so much art and interactive installations in public space. In 2001 and again in 2003, I got to ride the Tour de l’Île in Montreal while on group trips with NYC’s Five Borough Bike Club. Both times were incredibly exciting, […]