I have to give BIXI 5 -stars because they were instrumental in me having some key experiences in Montreal last September. There would have been no other place to rent a bike there and then. I downloaded the Application on the spot and entered my credit card. Then I looked over the many bikes available and picked one out and used the App to unlock it. I rented a BIXI down at the waterfront and road it for 2.5 hours from there over a couple of bridges to the islands that have the Biosphere, the Casino, and the Formula One Racetrack. I road the BIXI around the circumference of the formula one racetrack--slowest bike on the track but it was a ton of fun. Then over to the entrance to the Casino and over and around the Biosphere and back to downtown Montreal. The total cost was only about $10 US. It was one of the most memorable parts of my trip. read more

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Bikes weren't great but worked. 1 hour 48 minutes cost $200 for 2 bikes. scam. See for your self. read more

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Great system Fiat prices Of course there could be more... but Montreal has a ton of bike lanes and cycling is very viable. I always rent here, good deal! read more

Bixi - He's lost...... - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

Frustrant de bout en bout... J'ai gagné un abonnement en 2023. 50% du temps, il y a un problème : pas de vélos ou vélos défectueux, pas de points d'ancrage libres ou ancrages défectueux... Au nombre de fois que j'ai communiqué des problèmes à Bixi, c'était presqu'un emploi. Une chance que mon abonnement avait été gratuit ! La saison 2023 m'a convaincu de ne pas m'abonner en 2024, mais on m'a chargé automatiquement ! Heureusement, j'ai obtenu le remboursement facilement. Peu de temps après, j'ai décidé de supprimer mon compte. Pensez-vous que Bixi a rendu ce processus facile ? Bien sûr que non... read more

I had questions about the pricing options to take out a Bixi bike. Although the website doesn't really point this out, the smartest thing to do is to purchase a month's pass and return the bike before 45 minutes expires. You can then take out a new bike and reset the clock for 45 minutes. Although you pay a $20 fee, this is far cheaper than renting a bike for a day. I've ridden the bike for two days for a total of 14 separate rides, 4 hours of total riding time, and 36.3 miles. I would have ridden it more often if I didn't have damn business meetings. One thing I wanted to point out was how helpful Bixi customer services representatives are. Since I was only going to be riding for two days, I paid the month subscription fee and then canceled it immediately. It is not clearly obvious how to do this on the app so I contacted a Bixi service representative and they did it for me. I would highly recommend that you put a large "cancel subscription" button clearly on the app page to make this simple. Otherwise, it appears that you are trying to bilk the customer out of additional money by charging for a continuous automatic subscription far beyond the rider's needs because it is so difficult to cancel. read more

Cheap, fun, and healthy way to explore Montreal! Other than using our own two legs, the Bixi bikes were our 2nd most popular mode of transportation during our trip. The bikes were a bit clunky so riding up hills were more of a strug than if we had road bikes. The gears were also pretty wonky. Honestly the only gear that was remotely useful was the last one (7 or 3 depending on which type of bike you had). Nonetheless, to get from point A to point B, the bikes got the job done. Some tips: +Get the 24 hour pass. It was 5 CAD-- so cheap! +Set up your desired bike (seat height etc) before you take it from the dock. You have to dock the bike every 30 minutes so you don't want to waste your time fumbling around. With that being said, 30 minutes is more than enough to get you where you need to be +Even if you get the 24 hour pass you have to swipe your credit card again and get a new code (you never use your code more than once) +There are Bixi stations literally everywhere, but the online map (https://secure.bixi.com/map/) helped us locate the closest one to our destination, and showed us whether the docks were full or empty We missed the Free Bixi Sunday by one day, but I'm glad they give back to the community by having free days and encouraging an active lifestyle! read more

Bixi - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

I tried bixi for the 1st time. Firstly you cannot use the service without an app... no phone= no bixi... The bixi i rented was returned within 1h30min. I double checked that it was locked and the green light was on. I still was charged 25$ as the station did not record my return, and i was billed form29hrs... the bixi did not seem to have been used as it was in the same station... this happened to a friend also. I do not trust the system and one should be billed for a faulty station... i read more

Love the idea, didn't love the experience. Bike rental stands are broken, locking system is not good. I rented a bike for 15 min. Locked it, looked at it, looked locked. Pulled at it, it's locked tight. Later, I'm charged $50+ for not returning correctly. Would've been cheaper and faster to take a taxi instead. read more

The phone line's customer service is terrible and the price for rentals is a scam. For 4 short rides, I've been charged $80. It's more worth it to simply buy a bike at that cost. This company has monopolized the bike rental services in Montreal and needs a competitor to keep their prices and services reasonable. read more

Locked the bike away after a short trip - heard the mechanism lock and legitimately couldn't move it. System malfunctions and doesn't register as locked. Charged 50CAD even though they could see that there was an 'attempted' lock for the bike at the same time I returned another bike. The bike was then taken by someone else and returned fine. Customer service rude and completely unhelpful - this is borderline a scam. read more

Bixi. I rave about it all the time still even though I no longer live in Montreal. Wow, I can't believe there's 460 stations (5,200 bikes) now! Amazing. Price is still unbelievably cheap ($5.00 for 24 hours, $14.00 for 72 hours, $30.00 for a month, $55.00 for half season and $87.00 for an annual membership). They even have the option now of doing a one way for $2.95, although I have no idea why you would do that. The season goes from April to November so six months for $87.00 is a steal. Guess which one I bought for my 5 days in Montreal? Yup, month membership for the win! Bonus that I can still use my old school BIXI key (that's lost half of it's paint job by now). Totally worth the $30.00 because I took 25 trips and rode almost 80km (I checked my Bixi stats 'cause I'm a nerd like that). Not too shabby. It's the best way to explore Montreal. I can't recommend it enough whether you're a tourist or local. There's nothing better than taking a BIXI out to cruise at night with the wind gushing in your face. read more

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Why walk when you can ride? I picked up a Bixi Bike and was pleased with the performance. It feels almost exactly like the same Boris Bike that I rented often in London. Solid ride, three gears, good brakes and wide tires to eat up the bumps of a city road. The rental system is the same as London, where you swipe your credit card in the machine (it accepts 'swipe and sign' cards and probably 'chip and pin' cards too) and you pay a basic daily rate and then more depending on how long you keep each cycle. The first half hour is free. Machines are scattered throughout the city so you are never too far from a place where you can pick one up or drop one off. Tip: Montreal is a big city. Get a helmet and save your noggin, mkay? read more

Bixi - A rental kiosk - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

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Frais se 52$ après une utilisation des services bixi pendant 30 minutes. Apparemment le vélo a été utilisé 5h après que je l'aie déposé à la station. J'ai bien enfoncé mon vélo, entendu le bip et essayé de le tirer, il était bien barré. 2h plus tard j'ai repris un vélo à la station voisine qui était en panne. J'ai donc téléchargé l'application pour débloquer un vélo. J'ai du scanner le code qr sur 4 appareils différents et finalement un des 1ers que j'ai essayé c'est débarré comme par magie.. Lorsque j'ai discuté avec la compagnie pour comprendre les frais et leur expliquer que logiquement je n'ai pas gardé le vélo puisque j'en ai loué un autre pour revenir à mon point de départ on m'a signalé que peut importe, c'était mon problème car je n'ai pas entendu le bon bip.. ah bon ! Les bips différents je suis sensée lesreconnaître de quelle manière?Après un moment j'ai demandé a parlé au gérant. Celui-ci m'a refait le même discours, ne m'a pas écouté, m'a dit que depuis tantôt il m'écoutait dire les mêmes choses (pardon) et que la politique ne changerait pas. À lire les autres commentaires je remarque que plusieurs personnes ont eu des expériences similaires, plus jamais je n'utiliserai leur service et il me fera plaisir de passer le mot à tout mon entourage afin que personne ne s'y prenne. read more

Please be careful! Do not use "Bixi" with your credit card. I returned a bike, the light turned green and was locked in the rack. So I assumed everything was fine. But they kept charging me for a long time that I didn't do. As soon as I saw this I called right away, it took too long to speak with a person, finally I explained that the bike was returned right after about 20 minutes they said it was my fault and the money would not be refunded. This company is a joke. read more

I have used bixi for years but I deem the quality of a company dependent on their customer service. Of which, there is none here. I was looking forward to biking home from work- about an hour bike- when the bixi ap would not let me unlock a bike. I restarted the ap. I deleted it and downloaded it again. I restarted my phone. Nothing worked. I was relying on taking a bixi to get home after work today but there were no other stations with other bikes available within reasonable walking distance. I tried for 30 minutes. When I was forced to take a $25 Uber home bixi refused to reimburse me because it was my fault since on their end my account was paid and there was no payment issue. Tell me how that makes sense read more

Definitely a bit of a scam for first time users who get a bad surprise on their cc bill when they don't read the fine print. Re-dock bike every 30 minutes and wait 2 minutes before taking out another to avoid charges? Lotta hoop jumping to avoid extra charges even if you do read the fine print. read more

Put my bike in place after use. literally cannot pull it out. Tell my self it must be well locked in. Then I try to use another one 3 hours later. Machine tells me I have to many rentals at the same time. I start putting 2 and 2 together and realised my former rental is still running. I start walking to the subway ( I need to move) and call their services at the same time. 15 minutes wait after, The person on the phone tells me the ONLY possible solution is to walk back and put the bike back in. I say it's not possible , I'm already away and that anyways it was impossible to pull out!!! She tells me I'm going to be billed 50$ plus technician fees. Don't use this. read more

Would give 10 stars if I could... I have been using Bixi since 2013, when I used it to actually learn how to ride a bike. Loved it then, love it even more now. It is spectacular how much the Bixi service has improved over the years, with more stations added for a large spanning network, and an increasing quality of bikes overall. Price has also remained very similar to 6 years ago. Bikes are very comfortable with the upright riding position, albeit a bit difficult to maneuver on a steep hill- but hey, it builds muscle! I have taken Bixis on continuous 3-hour rides at times, and no sore butt (that's gotta say something about comfort). And yes, I do sometimes get a wonky one that skips gears on me, but I simply switch to another bike and report the faulty one. Never had any major issue- better bike quality and network than many other bike sharing systems in major cities out there. read more

Awesome bike rental system, a great way to see the city on the cheap. Montreal is a hugely bike-friendly city so you will find bike paths everywhere. C$5/day lets you take out a bike for 30 minutes at a time. Return it to any dock, walk around for a couple of minutes, and take out another one and repeat. You aren't going to win the Tour de France on these bikes but they're good enough to get around the city and you can't beat the price. Be aware that the charges start racking up from 31+ minutes. They definitely want you to put the bikes back quickly so someone else can use them. Download the Bixi app to your phone, which will tell you not only where the docks are, but also how many bikes and empty spots are available. Very clever system. The bikes close up shop during the winter. Check the website for months of operation. The bike rental shops must be going out of business. Our group of 3 rented Bixis all day for C$15 total. read more

Thanks to the people of Bixi, we have a useful, realistic alternative in our attempts at commuting in the city. On my last visit to Montreal, I spent two days using Bixi and it cost me $4.64 a day on my credit card. Which I simply swipe to get a Bixi. Then I move amongst the 400 stations in Montreal which house 5,000 bikes. Why is Bixi the Bomb? 1. Very inexpensive 2. No maintenance required 3. The bikes have undesirable parts (avoids theft) 4. The bikes are designed to last, are safe, and plentiful 5. Sure, your bike is better, but numbers 1-3 do not apply. Coming to a city near you! read more

Bixi - The Bike - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

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Typical bike share systems that you see in major metropolitan areas. Compared to the bike share systems in NYC and San Francisco, this one is sub par due to the bikes themselves. The bikes aren't built well and feel clunky and cheap. I felt like I had to work extra on these bikes. Montreal also surprised me with all the hills that it has. Biking up those hills was virtually impossible. I am reasonably fit and I had to walk my bike up those hills. NYC and San Francisco has e-bikes which makes hills a whole lot easier so maybe e-bikes will make its way to Bixi soon. There are stations scattered along the city so you can get to pretty much anywhere you want via Bixi. The app interface is user friendly, it didn't give me any problems during my visit in Montreal. Its a cheap alternative to ride shares and such, plus you'll burn calories as a bonus! read more

I never want to drive a car in Montreal ever again. Montreal is a wonderful biking city. Bixi bike is a great way to see all of it. Clearly marked bike lanes and protected paths mean that you can ride without NYC bike paranoia. All drivers keep plenty of distance from you. The bixi bike is really the perfect system for the perfect city. I wonder why I haven't used this system before. But now that I've found it. It's the only way I would get around in the summer. Rules to remember. $5 CAD for 24 hours $100 deposit Redock every 30 minutes to avoid extra charges. Wait 2 minutes between redocking and taking the bike out. You may take out the same bike. Just wait the 2 min You'll get your deposit back but it may take up to 10 business days. With a station every 2-3 blocks. You'll never run out of bixi stations to do a quick swap. All the stations are within any destination you choose so just dock your bike and do whatever you need to do. The bikes themselves are easy to ride. I have a carbon race bike but i didn't feel held back by these heavy bixis. You have 3 easy gears to choose from. They have the twist shifters. Brakes are the only thing I can complain about. You have to brake earlier than usual but you get used to it. Some level of competence on a bike is useful. read more

Bixi - Joe found a new use for the docking stations. - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

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You ever come out of a Montreal bar at night a little hammed and feeling like you have a brilliant idea for the next thing to do or place to go? This will happen to you. 1. You will come out of a random Montreal bar. 2. You will spot a BIXI station and be amazed they are everywhere. 3. You will attempt to persuade all in your party to hop on and go drunk riding 4. You will most likely get yourself home afterward after riding off the buzz I'm not advocating operating any sort of vehicle under the influence, but I'm just saying...it's definitely not as crazy as those that drink and drive and seriously when you come out of somewhere drunk and you spot one of these things, you think it's the best idea in the world. (I might be speaking from experience). Anyways in all seriousness, Montreal has done a great job in implementing this bike share system. The bikes are solid and comfortable for commuting in the city and they have all the basic easy riding components. A kick stand and a pseudo basket. Lights make it easy for people to see you and the chain is nicely covered to make sure you don't get your pants (or skirt) caught in it. Their prices are super reasonable and their annual fee is amazing if you live in Montreal. It really makes it a feasible transportation alternative during the warmer months if you live within the coverage area of BIXI. Note to other visitors who might not be informed, you have to check the bike in every 30 mins, or else you get charged extra it's not like a rental you might do from a bike shop. Like others have mentioned it's a means for you to get from one point in the city to another, not so much for touring. read more

Easy to use the application , easy to rent a bike friendly system. My issue is i dont get the 30 min role ( we have to out the bike back to a dick and get other code to take the bike again ) . Im short i wish there was lower level for the seat but it was manageable. Im a new biker , the bike was not that heavy as i saw from previous comments. Enjoyed it read more

BE AWARE I am extremely disappointed with BIXI. As an unexperienced user of their bikes I thought I would take a short trip last week. As it turns out the bike was not properly docked at the last station and as a result they charged me $50 for a trip that should have cost me a few dollars. I checked the bike and it seemed secured in the station. I called BIXI as soon as I saw the charge and they refused to refund me. I hate that they have your credit card information and charge you whatever they want and if you make a mistake they WILL NOT REFUND YOU. Looks like lots of other people have also had terrible customer service and charges that were not warranted so I don't feel bad at all for this. read more

There's nothing quite like exploring a new city by bike! This system is something I wish every city in the US had - not quite sure it would work everywhere - but it'd be nice. Easy to use (just read the directions so you don't waste time like me trying to figure out how to unlock a second bike), cheap, convenient locations and, most of all, awesome! If NYC had BIXI, I'd use it for shopping, when family comes to visit, barhopping... Love it!!! read more

Bixi - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

I love cities that have public bikes for rent, i.e. Himeji, Japan and Copenhagen, Denmark. The convenience of having this is a great benefit, no matter if you have a car or not. It's especially fun as a tourist to bike in a foreign city and get to know the area or just get lost and be able to bike your way back home (which is much faster than walking your lost butt home!). Each bike has a little area where you can put your purse, man-bag, groceries, jacket, etc and there's an elastic strap to keep it in place. There are different gears on the bike for when you encounter those hills (thankfully, not as steep as a SF hill!), a bell to signal to pedestrians to move out of your way and even at night, blinking lights so you're seen. The seats are adjustable and I found the handlebars somewhat front-heavy...I was afraid I was going to accidentally steer into a parked car! The only thing it's missing is a helmet! It's $5 to rent it for 24hr access (paid only via MasterCard or Visa) and the first time you rent one, you have it for 30 minutes. At the kiosk, you'll get a numbered code that you have 5 minutes to enter at the individul bike station. So then every time after you take the bike out, the first 30 minutes are free but if you go over then there are additional fees. So the question is, if you want it for longer than 30 minutes, can you just check it into a station after 30 minutes and then check it out right away for another free 30 minutes or is there a time limit from when you can re-check it out? There are so many BIXI stations that you are never left looking for a station to either rent one or return one. read more

Bixi - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

horrible service i paid and still couldn't take a bike, called service and they kept telling me to try a different station but none of the other stations worked because of a "system error" they had no problem taking 100$ from my card tho and now i have to wait 5 business days for a refund and still have no bike read more

This is definitely the way to go for travelling around Montreal in the warmer months. It's more convenient than the Metro and cheaper than a cab. The stations are conveniently located and $12 buys you unlimited 30min trips for 72hrs. Plus you'll get some exercise and you get to do a lot of sightseeing while biking and be able to pull over at any time. I found the majority of the bikes I rode were in good shape, the seat could be adjusted easily, the brakes worked perfectly and the gears changed with relative ease(though there's a delay switching when biking up a steep incline). Only two small issues we had were finding stations full when returning the bikes, then needing to bike farther to another one(apparently if you stick your credit card in the machine, it will buy you an extra 15mins to find a station with space available). The other issue was that the BIXI website is advertising 45mins in MTL as the limit per trip but they have yet to update the stations so we were both charged an extra $1.50 for a 35min journey. It's still a bargain if you can keep your trips under an hour. read more

Bixi - A larger station on rue St. Catherine - Bike Sharing Near Me - Montreal, Quebec

Some of the bikes and/or docking stations do not register that you have returned the bike properly. This can cost you a lot ofoney for something that isn't your fault and there's not really any way to dispute it. Any other costs are clearly stated (deposit, 30 min time limit). Some of the bikes aren't in great condition. They are all very heavy. The older bikes have only three speeds. Hopefully you get a bike that has breaks that aren't worn out. The concept is great but they are falling behind on the upkeep. read more

This is an absolute scam. Very misleading. I purchased 4 bicycles thinking it was for the day, however, upon checking my credit card statement, I realize that I was charged an absurd deposit of $400 on overage charges on top of another large surcharge FOR NOT docking the bike every half hour. This was not stated anywhere. I then proceeded to call customer service, both customers service representatives were far from helpful and condescending. Would not recommend this. I'm incredibly disappointed. And being real.. who the hell has $400 to deposit for 4 damn bikes. I ain't made of money. Rant over :) read more

Careful, the system defaults to charging your credit card lots of $$. After returning the bike to a station, I waited few minutes for the green light to appear. When it didn't, I tried re-docking the bike but I couldn't since it was locked securely in place. I waited a few more minutes and still no green light appeared. There was nothing more I could do but credit card was charged $32.95 despite only using the bike for 2 hours...not user friendly at all. Bike systems in other cities are superior. Customer service said too bad. Warning...be cautious or don't take a chance! read more

My boyfriend registered for a new account with a different email address, his membership was processed successfully. He then attempted to use a bike late at night, however could not access his account as it was linked to his old account. There was no means for him to access and log into his new account. He then spoke to a bixi operator who did not address the cause of the problem and could not provide a solution for him to access his active account. Ultimately, he was not able to use a bike due to a lack of efficiency and poor functioning of the app, and disappointing customer service too. There was no public transport at this time either so despite paying for a bixi membership, he had to take a taxi. Very unreliable. Other reviews indicate this is an ongoing and current issue which fails to be addressed by the bixi company. read more

* Great convenient system * Everyone always talks about Vancouver being so bike friendly, but in Vancouver biking seems to require having thousands of dollars of fancy form fitting clothing and aerodynamic helmets along with a healthy set of balls to brave the hostile car-bike-pedestrian dynamic that has evolved due some political actions by the mayor and his council which have ignored pedestrians and cars while tooting their own bike bell. Granted, I bike in Vancouver - but not with all the fancy schmancy equipment - and fear for my bike being stolen when I park it - and fear of driver or pedestrian hostility due to the political nature of bike culture in Vancouver. This public bike system, BIXI, makes biking what it should be - hassle free and convenient. You unlock a bike using your keycard (if you are a member), or a credit card if you are not a member. As an out of towner, I had to use the credit card method, but it worked flawlessly. I inserted my card, got charged $5 and that was good for unlimited number of trips in a 24 hour period. Each time I inserted the card again it recognized I had already paid and just gave me an unlock code. Once you have your code you pick the bike you want, unlock it, and ride off to wherever you'd like. When you are done you just lock it back into ANY BIXI stand so you don't have to worry about the bike once you get where you are going. You simply take a new one when you next need one. Fabulous system. The bikes are sturdy and have a handy spot up front to carry small bags even. But the nicest thing? There doesn't seem to be a hostility between pedestrians, bikers, and cars. Everyone just seems to get along and not make a big deal out of it. Priceless! The only drawback to the system is that due to the heavy sturdy nature of the bikes, and the fact they only have three gears, I worked up quite a sweat going uphill. I missed my bike going uphill. But other than that - this is a total winner of a system. It gets lots of casual users without fancy schmancy gear and expensive bikes, gets rid of concerns about parking bikes safely for the user, and is amazingly convenient. Vancouver as a bike friendly city? I say, "B.S." Montreal is much more friendly for biking! read more

The system is new and haves lot of downside. Number 1: the cost is a bit too much. For a tourist some might think it's a bike rental for the day but it's actually a tool for you to go to place A to B. Otherwise some extra charge for the additional hours can get expensive. Number 2: The Vandalism: if you lock your bike in and it shows that you actually locked it correctly. You should have a ticket complying that you're no longer responsable for the bike itself; some guy got charged some damage he didnt do which currently has no escalation or way to escalate it. By having a ticket, the system should be able to make a overall check-up and basically have some 24/7 camera looking at bike. Number 3: One of the major issue is mostly the fact that you need a credit card. Why a prepaid card wouldn't be an option? It"s ridiculous. Number 4: too many Bixi are used in some really particular place causing some penury of bixi to some place: some staff x-fering bixi should be working on that a lot more efficiently. Overall: pratically, environnementaly friendly and suited to the already existing bike culture in Montreal! read more

Beware of overcharges! The software doesn't always work properly resulting in dramatic overcharges. We rented two bikes on two credit cards. It seemed very straightforward. Each time we returned a bike we made sure the green light came on to confirm that the bike was returned. At one point my wife was unable to take another bike since the kiosk said that there was already a bike out. This was NOT the case. When the credit card bill came we were charged $35 instead of $7. The customer service by phone is terrible. After explaining the problem we had they basically said "tough". read more

Montreal's fabulous rent a bike. You can find stations everywhere throughout the city, making for a convenient way to get around. Secret: Ride for 30 minutes and park at a station. Wait a minimum of 5 minutes and repeat cycle. Your $5 will get you a day's worth of riding ;) read more

Maybe it's just me being a foreigner in the city but I didn't find it very user friendly. I couldn't find any stations by the bike path I was on so I pulled over to use the app to find them and they were a bit hard to get to if you aren't familiar with the area. Lots of one way streets etc. Then after finally getting to one I couldn't figure out how to dock the bike. Nowhere does it say you must lift up. I couldn't see a number to call and got quite frustrated. I imagine this will have cost me a pretty penny. Also why can't you pay for an hour? Even the all day pass only allows for 30 minute increments and good luck finding your docking stations. Not for me. read more

Whoever came up with BIXI, and the idea of bike-sharing, is a genius! Every city on Earth should be mandated to come up with their own system if its citizens don't commute by bike, and New York is finally catching on with their Citibike plans! Back to BIXI in Montreal. For those of you who have no idea how bike-sharing works (including me pre-Montreal) there are stations all over the city where you could insert your credit card (no cash) in a machine, pay, get an unlocking code, punch it in next to the bike you want, and pull out a bike from the docking station. My friends got one while visiting Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène and, as a testament to how crazy I am, I also got one with them in spite of taking a learn-to-bike class the week before! I know what you're thinking- how could a grown woman in her late twenties not know how to ride a bike???? Long story short: learned to bike for one summer as a kid, never tried it again until college, fell on second attempt because I didn't know how to use the brakes. The end. But not the end of my review: I was nervous since I was a fresh newbie who had recently discovered bike riding, and could tell other newbies a few things about the BIXI bikes. First, the bike is HEAVY. Second, there are three gears that I had no idea how to work, and was pedaling wildly at gear 1 while moving at a snail's pace. Gear 3 required the most leg strength, but that was what I was comfortable with. Also, there was a basket to put my bag in, with a cord to hold it in the basket, and a bell. About the BIXI system: we paid $5 for 24-hour use, but that doesn't mean you can hold on to the same bike for 24 hours straight. You have a half an hour with one bike, must return it to the station, wait 5 minutes, get another code with your credit card (without being charged again) and get another bike...and repeat for 24 hours. You'll pay an extra charge if you hold on to the same bike for more than 30 minutes. My friends and I decided to hold on to our bikes for an hour and a half, knowing about the extra charge (which amounted to USD $12 for the total cost of renting the bike) so we could enjoy riding around without worrying about making it back in a half an hour. That wasn't a problem. The real problem is when the bike docks are full, with no places to return your bikes, and that's the reason why I deducted 2 stars with no regrets. A quote from the montreal.bixi.com website: "What do I do if there are no empty bike docks when I want to return my bike? You can obtain an additional 15 minutes free of charge from the pay station. This should give you enough time to return your bike to a nearby bike station." Ummm... what if the other two on the island are also full?? Well, in that case, you're screwed! Lady Luck of Montreal was truly on my side because, when the four of us arrived, my friends went to get an extension while I stood near the bikes, dazed and confused, then a guy near me pulled out a bike, so I was able to successfully return mine in its place. As for the others, they waited.... and waited.... and waited, as well as other bikers who approached the docking station with their bikes and waited.... and waited... and waited.... To make another long story short: All 3 of my friends needed a second round of extensions, Friend #1 managed to return her bike without being charged again, Friend #2 ran out of extensions and was charged another fee before he could return his bike, and Friend #3 was the unluckiest friend of all. Not only was he charged another fee because he ran out of extensions, he also had to ride around to see if there were places at the other two stations where he could return his bike. We were waiting for so, so, soooooo long for someone to just take out a damn bike from the damn docking station so my friend could return his. And he wasn't the only one: the people that came after him to return their bikes also had to ride around, desperate. I got into a conversation with a friendly Montreal resident who told me that it was never like that, that the BIXI company would usually come and clear away some of the docks, and she called them but they told her they "weren't coming." Nothing short of a fiasco. The moral of this story is: never get a BIXI bike on an island where there are only three docking stations (or do so at your own risk!) because, like I said, if they're full when you want to return them, well, you're screwed! But off the island and in the city: BIXI is a brilliant stroke of genius! read more

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LOVED Montreal and LOVE, LOVE, LOVED Bixi. It is not the primary reason why I visited, but it is the primary reason why I will visit again. What a great way to enjoy an already lovely city! I am a huge fan of the concept, and I have used similar bike systems in other cities, but Montreal's Bixi is the first I have seen that has done such a thorough job of laying out their system; there are an adequate number of stations and they are logically located near bike paths so that you can find them in a timely manner to avoid overage charges. I wish every city that installed a bike system would be so logical (u-u-uhhh-um, yes, I'm talking about you, Chicago). Furthermore, it's not just the Bixi bike system itself, it is the commitment Montreal has made to being a bikeable city that makes the whole thing work. The city has obviously made a real investment in their bike-lane infrastructure and it has created a local bike culture that goes well beyond just the excellent Bixi system. Kudos to you Montreal. I hope the rest of the world is taking notes! read more