Bixi, short for Bicycle Taxi, is a one-piece, aluminum frame bicycle that is part of the bike sharing program that was introduced in Montreal last summer. It’s such a success story here that it migrated to the US this summer. With a sleek exterior and pedal-powered flashing lights, it looks like a bike that would have been used in Jean-Luc Godard’s futuristic 1965 film “Alphaville.’’ They are everywhere in Montreal. I’m happy to report that the Bixi, or a similar, yet-to-be-determined bicycle sharing program, is, after several delays, slated to come to Boston in 2011.
These ultra-chic bikes are part of an incredibly convenient city-wide program that is revolutionizing the way that people get around Montreal. It works something like this: There are 400 bike stations sprinkled throughout Montreal where the 5,000 bikes are anchored. You slip your credit card into the kiosk, and pay $5 for a code to unlock one of the bicycles. The $5 buys you a day on your Bixi, and you incur additional expenses the longer you stay on the bike. You can also purchase monthly and yearly subscriptions.
But the beauty of the program is that you can pick up your bike at one station, pedal to another part of the city, and drop it off at another station. If you need a bike later in the day, you insert the same credit card in a different kiosk (it remembers your number), and you pull out another bike. It’s covered by the $5 you paid earlier. It’s like Zipcar for bicycles, and it’s an amazing way to familiarize yourself with a foreign city. I saw more of Montreal than I ever have in the past as I rode my Bixi to landmarks such as the Biosphere and Habitat 67. It’s also a bit dangerous, because it’s far too easy to stop at tempting boulangeries and tell yourself that you’re exercising off that chocolate croissant you just devoured as you pedal about town.
