Comments on: Montreal’s bike-rental program: will it work?

By: John H

John H — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:23:12 +0000

wweeasel, If you think that $78 for an annual subscription is too much, you will not be required to participate.

I think this is an excellent initiative not only for Montreal, but also for Vancouver, where I ride.

By: wweeasel

wweeasel — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:29:44 +0000

It is another rip off like the one they made with changing the parking meters,you deposit the money for an hour for example,but you cannot add to it until the hour expires,neither you nor others can benefit from the money left on the meter,plus you have to walk a distance on an icy sidewalk to reach for the machine and freeze before another person is finished punching the numbers...the bike thing is another way for the city to empty the peoples pocket,the last thing they care about is the environment,montreal roads and weather are not fit for these types of projects,montreal is a continious construction site for roads and sewers,not because of the harsh winter,but because of the incomipence,corruption,and the lack of coordination between different departments of public works...wake up!

By: Retro Bicycles

Retro Bicycles — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:55:13 +0000

Give me an old cool bicycle, and I'll ride around the city for days.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:22:57 +0000

I am completely stoked by this idea. Montreal is doing something right! I was just in Paris and saw tons of people using them. I'm not too concerned that the bikes can only be used for half the year. I only hope that the stations don't get destroyed over the course of the winter.

By: Chris Erb

Chris Erb — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:57:43 +0000

I'm pretty sure the Bécik Vert program in the Plateau was quite successful. I went there with my brother once and they were completely out of bikes by noon. They said they usually ran out at around on weekdays and earlier on weekends. They only had about 30 bikes though and only two places you could pick them up but they were free and you could keep them for the whole day. I used to see them around once and awhile and the looks most people had on their faces was one of terror if they were on the street as they were usually used by people who don't often bike or tourists so they weren't all that used to Montreal's famously aggressive drivers.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:46:28 +0000

Does anyone know what the outcome was of the bikes that were offered on Mont-Royal avenue? I haven't read any concluding remarks, though the system has been taken down for the winter.

By: Christopher DeWolf

Christopher DeWolf — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:05:20 +0000

Unless I'm mistaken, though, you only rent the bike for as long as you are actually riding it. For instance, you take a bike from one station, ride it to work and then park it at another station. You only pay for the amount of time it takes you to go between the two stations.

You can bike from one end of central Montreal to another --- that's NDG all the way to Rosemont --- in an hour, so that would be no more than $2 for any single trip. Once you park the bike, you stop paying.

By: Paul Erlichman

Paul Erlichman — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:48:15 +0000

Problem is, it's really expensive if you want to use it for any longish amount of time. For example, unless you have a subscription (which isn't much cheaper), it's 7 euros for two hours. Using them to bike to work isn't really a possibilty then...

By: smd

smd — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:35:35 +0000

It certainly is a nice idea, but much like another European fad -- the tramway -- I wonder how the Montréal version would take our five/six months of snow into account. I could see potential for another Big O fiasco, where what worked for the south of France is crushed under the weight of a Montréal winter. Beware!