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Bixi Toronto gets a boost

Bixi financial books were opened this week for a bankruptcy hearing.
September 12, 2013
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Fans of the Bixi bike-sharing program in Toronto have a reason to celebrate. Thanks to the efforts of a city councillor and a group of developers, Bixi Toronto will be getting an additional $1 million in funding.

Ward 27 councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam has worked with three condo developers—Canderel, DiamondCorp and Lanterra—to bring the funding together. The funds will allow Bixi to afford an additional 20 stations, bringing the system total to 100.

“In a short period of time, we will have allocated a million dollars. And that’s just this tiny little ward,” Wong-Tam said in the Toronto Star. “If everybody else used this, and there was a consistent policy across the city, we could probably bring Bixi into North York, into Scarborough, into Etobicoke. It could be everywhere.”

The advocacy group, Cycle Toronto, issued an action alert to highlight the news, asking members to send a note of thank you to Wong-Tam.

 

The funding the developers provide will allow each builder to create fewer parking spots than the city typically requires, creating a precedent that could be applied to new developments city-wide.

The challenge for the Bixi system in Toronto has been garnering the investment needed to make it a city-wide system. At present, all of the Bixi stations are located in the city core. With 1,000 bicycles, Toronto’s system is dwarfed by the 5,120 bikes in Montreal, where the system was created. The Toronto system has operated at a loss; city taxpayers are now forced to guarantee the $3.9 million debt presently owed. Bixi’s management believes that Bixi could operate successfully, and repay the debt if the system were to grow to 3,000 bikes.

Barry Fenton, chief executive at Lanterra, came around to a two-wheeled point of view after going for a ride in Stockholm, Sweden. “Because you are reducing parking, that’s fair: patrons and purchasers in the building will require sharing of cars, will require bicycle opportunities,” said Fenton, to the Toronto Star.

The funds are certainly a help to the struggling Bixi, and should represent another 250 bikes, as well as the additional 20 stations. However, the approach is just one of many tools being considered to help develop Bixi for the future.