Bixi reports record-breaking year in 2017 as season comes to a close in Montreal
With 4.8 million trips in total, 2017 saw an average increase by 10 per cent
With Bixi having recently wrapped up its season in Montreal, the ground-breaking bike-share service has reported a record year in 2017.
The service closed its operations for the 2017 season on Nov. 15 at midnight.
During the past several months, since the season’s start in April, the number of users spiked to 258,000 in Montreal, taking the service to a grand total of 4.8 million trips. That spike, the CBC reports, represents an increase in 10 per cent compared with 2016’s numbers—something aided by Bixi’s expansion by 1,000 bikes and 80 more docking stations, and the addition of free rides on Sundays.
In 2016, the City of Montreal also announced that it would kick in $10 million for the non-profit organization, enabling the purchase of those new bikes and upgrades to docking stations.
“The 2017 Bixi season was exceptional,” said Bixi president Marie Elaine Farley in a prepared statement, “as more people than ever have been able to take advantage of the service.”
With the season now at a close, the process of removing bikes and stations will continue during the next few weeks, ahead of any sudden dumps of snow.
Bike sharing services in general have also seen expansion in other Canadian cities, too. Vancouver’s Mobi service, for example, recently announced that it would be expanding to East Vancouver, while Victoria recently introduced “dock-free” bike sharing.
