Longueuil is acquiring 200 new BIXI bikes and acquiring about 20 stations, thus quadrupling its number of service points on the territory. The project will cost a total of 1.6 million, the bill being shared between Quebec and the City.
“This is excellent news that reinforces the efforts made by the City for the development of active transportation in Longueuil, a key commitment of our team,” said Mayor Catherine Fournier on Monday, on the sidelines of a press conference.
Of the 200 BIXI bikes that will be acquired, 70 will be electrically assisted. However, you will have to wait a year before you can use them. In a press release, the Fournier administration specifies that “the equipment will be delivered gradually during the 2023 season and will be available to citizens by the start of the 2024 season”.
Currently, Longueuil has only six BIXI stations, all concentrated near the yellow line metro and the Jacques-Cartier bridge. Next year, the territory will therefore now have 26, of which around half should allow the charging of electric bikes.
These 20 new stations will be mainly located in Vieux-Longueuil, but two of them will also be located in the borough of Greenfield Park, and one in Saint-Hubert. Their implementation, combined with the acquisition of 200 bicycles, will cost a total of 1.6 million, an invoice paid by the provincial government and the City, at 50% each.
The City says that two other implementation phases are however planned in the coming years in order to provide the rest of the territory with stations, which must first be gradually implemented at close range.
In Montreal, BIXI announced last week that its teams will attempt for the first time in its history to deliver the service year-round, including during the winter. About 150 of the 850 stations will be available after November 15 in the metropolis, in seven boroughs, possibly with heated slabs and roofs. The bikes will be equipped with studded tires, among other things.
This season, the organization will add “414 new bikes, 36 new stations and 1,468 additional anchor points” on the island of Montreal. In total, there will therefore be 865 stations and around 10,000 bicycles, of which 2,600 are electric.
A “huge terminal” will also be installed during the summer in Square Victoria, in order to leave your BIXI in the heart of downtown. It is not yet known how many bicycles can be parked there.
Less good news, however: both in Longueuil and Montreal, subscription prices will increase by 7 to 8% this year, confirmed the president of BIXI, Alexandre Taillefer. A subscription valid until November 15 will therefore cost $99 plus taxes, or close to $115. An “annual” subscription to BIXI, including winter use, could be made available eventually, but not this year.
