Latest news with #Bixi
Montreal Gazette
2 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
Grocery shopping by bicycle? Bixi making it easier with new line of trailers
By For those who need to schlep groceries or transport gardening essentials but don't have a car or don't want to use one, Bixi is offering a new service as of Monday: bicycle trailers for rent. In what it says is a world first among bike-sharing services, Bixi announced it will roll out 50 bike trailers by the end of this summer that can be rented by the hour and attached to any bicycle, Bixi or otherwise, for use. The first 10 were to be installed Monday at Bixi docking stations around the city. The cost of rental is $4 for four hours for members, and $8 for four hours for non-members, plus taxes. After four hours it costs an additional 20 cents a minute. Trailers can be returned to any docking station after use. 'It came in response to the requests of Montrealers who told us they wanted to be able to transport bulkier items or their groceries,' said Pierre-Luc Marier, director of communications. 'So now people will be able to transport shopping items or baseball equipment or something they bought on Facebook Marketplace.' The trailers took two years to develop and can hold up to 50 kilograms of stock. Children and pets are not permitted. They can be found by using the Bixi app and will probably be parked at docks next to high-traffic shopping areas like the Jean-Talon and Atwater markets and close to the train station for those who might want to carry their suitcases. Once removed from a dock, they attach to the seat post of a bicycle with a clamping system. A lock is built into the trailer so it can be secured while running errands. Bixi plans to install another 100 trailers each summer until the end of 2028 for a total of 350 throughout the city. In its communiqué, Bixi states 'the trailer has been optimized to withstand the intensive use and urban realities of Montreal,' which presumably means it has been designed to weather potholes. Time will tell.
Montreal Gazette
07-06-2025
- Climate
- Montreal Gazette
What you need to know ahead of Monday's transit strike in Montreal
By Montrealers will be hoping for sunny weather over the nine-day period of June 9-17. Cycling and walking will be the best ways to get around the city while the STM's transit workers engage in a limited strike that will force bus and métro service to be heavily reduced. Buses and métro cars will probably be overcrowded, and it is expected more cars will be used, meaning there will be more congestion on the roads than normal during the nine-day period. The STM is advising people who need public transit to get around to double the time they normally allot to travel to their destinations. Those who can work from home are encouraged to do so. Here is what you need to know: Pay attention to departure times Because the métro has four different lines, their departure times vary widely. For example, while the métro technically runs until 5:48 p.m. in the afternoon rush period, the last train departing Angrignon station during that period is at 5:02, so if you arrive at that station afterward, you're out of luck. The next departure from that station is at 11 p.m. Here is the schedule for next nine days: June 9-11 Bus service 6:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. Métro service 6:30 a.m. to 9:38 a.m., 2:45 p.m. to 5:48 p.m., 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. No service outside these times. June 12 Bus service 6:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. Métro service 6:30 a.m. to 10:38 a.m., 2:45 p.m. to 6:48 p.m., 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Service at up to 50 per cent outside these times. June 13-15 Normal bus and métro service June 16-17 Bus service 6:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., 11:15 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. Métro service 6:30 a.m. to 9:38 a.m., 2:45 p.m. to 5:48 p.m., 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Service at up to 50 per cent outside these times. Detailed lists of the first and last métro departures are available at No refunds for monthly pass The region's transit authority, the ARTM, has said it will not give refunds or discounts for those who have purchased passes for the month of June. The ARTM has helped make it easier for commuters in past transit interruptions, for example, when commuter train service was interrupted by construction of the REM. However, in this instance the ARTM will not put in place a plan to boost transit from other modes, like Exo trains or regional buses, as a way to mitigate the effects of the strike. Reached this week, ARTM spokesperson Maxime Riopel declined to comment about the strike. Bixi to add more drop-off locations The city's bike-sharing program will more than double the number of depot sites that are available to Bixi users over the course of the strike to 24 from 10. Depot sites are large collection points that allow Bixi users to drop off their bikes without having to find an available dock. Bixi is expecting more people to be using their service over the course of the strike, so it is ensuring its staff is ready to replenish empty docks as needed. For its part, the city's major car-sharing service, Communauto, is urging its users to share rides if possible. It can't add capacity to its fleet of 4,500 vehicles. Adapted transit service unaffected The STM wishes to reassure those who rely on adapted transit to get around the city that the service will not be affected by the strike. That being said, transit lobby group Trajectoire Québec said this strike will be felt hardest by the elderly, those with reduced mobility and those who can't afford other means of transportation. 'We're worried about people who can't get around on bikes and who can't afford to pay for taxis,' group co-director general Philippe Jacques said in an interview Friday. Jacques said he's anticipating chaos, especially if it rains. 'We saw in Quebec City's (transit strike last year), there were a lot of impacts,' he said. 'Fewer people were able to get to food banks, and a lot of doctors' appointments were cancelled.' He found it curious that the Tribunal administratif du travail ruled service during the Grand Prix weekend was deemed to be essential, while the day-to-day routine outside of that event wasn't. 'Montrealers who have to go to work, or who have to get to appointments, they're told: 'figure it out.' But to go watch cars going around in a circle, burning gas and polluting, for that, yes, we have a complete service,' Jacques said. He lamented a general lack of investment by the province into transit services, which has led to some of the cost-cutting measures that the STM is asking of its maintenance workers. This transit strike could be one of several disruptions to STM services this year, as the STM is currently negotiating with four unions at the same time. Two of those unions, representing drivers and administrative workers, have also given their leaders a strike mandate. So far, those unions have not given the STM notice that they will walk off the job, and negotiations continue with management.
CBC
31-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Bixi is expanding beyond Montreal, sets up in 4 new cities this spring
More Quebecers will be able to ride Bixis this year, with the non-profit adding four more cities to its bike-sharing network. Bixi stations will gradually sprout around the Montreal Island area in Saint-Eustache, Deux-Montagnes, and Saint-Lambert, as well as in Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships. The organization is also beefing up service in Laval with 49 new stations, bringing the total number of stations there to 75. The city of Longueuil will see 22 new stations this spring. The entire network will be fully operational beginning on April 15, according to a press release sent out by Bixi Montréal. CEO of Vélo-Québec Jean-François Rheault says he's pleased to see Bixi is growing in the suburbs where people can combine the service with public transportation. He says the new locations seem to have the infrastructure to support the bike-sharing service. "Of course, Bixi is not the only ingredient to allow people to use cycling as a mode of transportation. You need to develop a network of safe and efficient cycling infrastructure," he said. "More and more cities are developing safe networks." In total, the number of bikes in the Bixi network this year will grow to 12,600 with about a quarter of those being electric bikes. Rheault says the scalability of Bixi's year-round service remains a challenge after he's heard from several people wishing they had closer access to the winterized bikes. "I think in the future more and more people are interested to use the Bixi system in the winter and today the limitation is the availability of bikes or the availability of stations in the different neighbourhoods," he said. People can suggest locations for new Bixi stations on their website, whether it's a specific neighbourhood or city.
