Using Montreal's BIXI system
I spent half a day cycling in Montreal and used BIXI, their bike-share system. Not bad!
Here are my observations:
1. The bikes seem well-designed: easy to ride, with three gears somewhat in the low range to make allowance for the many hills in Montreal, wide tires that can cope with difficult road surfaces, an easily adjustable seat, simple pedals. I lucked out and had a new 7-speed model on one leg of the trip and thought it to be great! One thing is apparent, though - good maintenance of these bikes is key for customer safety and satisfaction. The bikes I rode were in good or excellent condition with one exception. It's brakes were marginal - a quick tuning would have fixed it. I doubt that one can rely on users reporting problems - few folks will take the time and go through the reporting process, no matter how simple it is. If there isn't a regular inspection of all bikes at the garage, there should be one.
2. The payment system is simple: straight-forward rules with an intuitive pay mechanism via credit card. Being new to it, I had some minor problems:
* I could not find the dock's keypad for entering the five digit code that associates your payment with the bike that you have selected. I was looking for something like a phone key pad - with nine or ten buttons. After three failed tries the machine rejected my credit card and caused me a minor panic. I tried at the next box station not far away, and there it dawned on me that there were only three unique digits in the code and thus easily noticed the "key pad" - it has only the buttons: 1, 2, and 3...
* When not being able to return the bike, it would have been nice if the station would have told me where the next available stations would be.
3. Finding a bike station was easy in the down-town area (Rene-Levesque E and St. Denis) and there were ample bikes available on the Saturday morning. My route down to the port and along the Lachine Canal gave me a chance to return the bike and pick up another one several times without trouble. But a visit to the popular Atwater Market ran into trouble. The bike station there had no empty docks and thus I could not return the bike. Neither could I park it and visit the market because there is no lock on the bike. I waited for a while, beyond my grace period and started to rack up extra minutes on my credit card. After a while, I followed two cyclists who had the same problem but they knew where the next station was. It turned out that that one was full as well and so was the one beyond it. I ended up returning to the core of the city and I returned the bike outside the train station at Place Ville-Marie.
The problem seems to be caused by pattern of travel to this attraction: the market is a popular destination for BIXI users and thus "everyone" is there at the same time thus overloading the facilities. It may be smart to visit such places choosing a time that avoids the "rush".
I commend BIXI for their website and clear info at the bike stations themselves. A nice added touch is the Google map with up-to-date info on bike status for each station. I sure could have used an internet-enabled cellphone!
4. Cycling safety is generally good because motorists seem to be aware of cyclists and are tolerant of the sometimes generous interpretation of traffic rules by cyclists. There is less tension on the road - I saw none of that testosterone-laced attitude of Toronto's drivers towards cyclists. I guess Montrealers are more mature.
As an out-of-towner, I realized that at times I was not familiar with the written and unwritten rules of the road. But because of the usually well laid-out paths and the tolerant attitude of fellow road users, I never was in trouble and felt safe at all times. Click here for the link to Bixi's advice on Montreal's traffic rules...
for images, see http://www.yip.org/~erhard/using_a_bike_in_montreal__2009.htm
When you encounter a full station and cannot park your bixi, you are meant to enter your code in the pay station. This has two effects: first, it gives you another 15 free minutes to get to another station (if that one is also full, you can enter your code again for another 15minutes, and so on) and second, it provides the company behind Bixi with data on how the bikes are being used. This data helps them adjust the system to better reflect the needs of the users. I've seen first hand how doing this has helped increase the size of certain frequently used stations.
...but at that point I was more worried about finding a close spot to leave the bike than the extra charges. Typical beginner reaction....
....for the about four hours of bike use. Not bad, I think. If Toronto can offer a similar experience with its anticipated bike share program, it should do well with folks visiting the city.
I sort of found the Bixi bikes hard to maneuver in that they're a little heavy, but the weight isn't distributed evenly. Anyway, I would just find that I would wobble side to side before I got to a decent speed where I could maintain a straight line while riding. But maybe I'm just used to my road bike.
I didn't get a chance to ride on one of the bike lanes in Montreal that are buffered by a raised cement barrier and have 2 lanes of opposing bike traffic on the one side of the entire street. I was just wondering how it works for people wanting to turn left or right...wouldn't they have to cut through 2 flows of opposing vehicular traffic? Like I said, I didn't get a chance to ride on a bike lane like this in Montreal, but how do they have it set up so that any cyclist turning left or right from the bike lane doesn't get decked by cars traveling opposite directions? (maybe I make no sense at all).
I'm also interested to know when Toronto's anticipated bike-share program is going to actually happen. Unfortunately, I just feel like political will in Toronto is really lacking.
I did a quick trip through Montreal the other weekend. While I did not have time to use one of the bikes I think their, the systems, more important aspects was its prominence. They were always in your face, they were not hidden from view or tucked away in some corner. Even if one does not use the system it stills sends an important message of belonging in the transportation mix.
I had read an article somewhere that says they have traveling bixi-repair people. They'll either fix a bike on the spot, or toss it in the back of their truck to take to the main facility. The article also noted how short handed they were in comparison to how quickly people are busting up the bikes.
I could easily see how a mechanic would be over-worked and rushed, thus missing something like soft brakes.
Bike path's concrete median might put cyclists at risk
MARIAN SCOTT, The Gazette
When the de Maisonneuve Blvd. bike path opened in November 2007, cycling advocates hailed the long-awaited downtown route as a dream come true.
The four-kilometre, two-way route makes it possible to pedal through downtown safely, said Suzanne Lareau, president of Vélo Québec.
A concrete median protects cyclists from cars and trucks.
But David Fortier, a safety expert with the Institut national de la santé publique, says while the path gives cyclists the impression of being protected, it actually gives riders a false sense of security.
"The problem is when the cyclists reach the intersection, there is no protection. It's zero," he says.
Drivers on de Maisonneuve frequently make left turns into streets that intersect the path.
Some critics also say the concrete median leaves cyclists nowhere to escape in an emergency.
Fortier added that a two-way bike path on a one-way street can confuse drivers, who might not expect oncoming bicycles.
Ahmed El-Geneidy, an assistant professor of urban planning at McGill University, says an online survey of 2,903 cyclists reveals that while the de Maisonneuve path is popular with novice cyclists, many experienced bikers are critical. They would prefer having room to pass slower cyclists, he says.
Fortier says one way to make the path safer would be to install traffic lights that allow cyclists to cross the intersection before motorists are allowed to turn.
But lights would slow both car and bike traffic, he says.
Forcing drivers stop a few metres back from the intersection would also make intersections safer, he suggests.
There is disagreement among planners on whether bike paths physically separated from traffic are safer, he says.
"When the cyclist is not protected, he feels more fragile. Maybe he will pay more attention," says Fortier.
But Peter Furth, a transportation expert at Northeastern University in Boston, dismissed the criticisms of the de Maisonneuve path.
"You're an example that American cities are looking for," he says.
One-way paths are preferable, but a two-way one is an acceptable compromise given space and budget constraints, Furth says.
Fortier, a cyclist, says he feels anxious when driving on de Maisonneuve. "When I'm turning, I feel an enormous stress about knowing whether there is a cyclist coming," he says. "It's not easy."
But El-Geneidy says despite critiques, the path is a boon for Montrealers. "Any building of any bicycle facility is a step forward."
a 35 000-strong Montreal bike parade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Du5HvIOeek
Fix your own bike in Montreal (a few of the MANY bike coops in Montreal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVn-MoVWda0
a Montreal street mechanic explains why Bixis are so cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GriCfMct0Go
cycling in Ottawa