Open in full screen mode Electricly assisted bicycles represent 25% of the BIXI fleet and are 30% more used than conventional bicycles. (Archive photo) Speech synthesis, based on artificial intelligence, makes it possible to generate spoken text from written text. Faced with the success of electric BIXIs , the City of Montreal has decided to take out its checkbook to connect 125 stations to the Hydro-Québec network at a cost of $3.1 million. To justify the cost of the connection ($25,000 per station on average), the City cites the growing popularity of the 2,395 blue bikes. They won over bike share enthusiasts and even attracted new customers to the point where usage per day jumped 17% over to standard bicycles since 2021, mentions a decision document from the city of Montreal whose content Radio-Canada examined. BIXIs blue electrics in brief: In summary and according to our calculations, if a classic BIXI is used on average nearly 6 times per day, an electric BIXI is used 7.8 times. These calculations could not be confirmed by BIXI Montréal at the time of publishing these lines.
The BIXI parking terminals run almost entirely on solar energy, which does not allow electric bikes to be recharged. (Archive photo)
The electrification of anchor stations is justified by operational reasons.
While waiting for the electrification of its stations, BIXI must rely on its workforce to manually change its VAELS batteries (free electric assisted bicycles -service) recharged in various ways, which represents avoidable operating costs, mentions the City document.
Charging in progress
Demonstration of FIQ nurses in front of the National Assembly
ELSEWHERE ON INFO: Demonstration of FIQ nurses in front of the National AssemblyLoading in progress
Demonstration of FIQ nurses in front of the National Assembly
ELSE ON INFO: Demonstration of FIQ nurses in front of the National Assembly< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Currently, the majority of BIXI parking terminals operate on solar energy, which allows the payment terminal to operate, but not to recharge electric bikes.
At the executive committee meeting on Wednesday, March 13, another $6.9 million contract was on the agenda for the purchase of equipment and nearly 1,400 bicycles.
The awarding of this contract allows us to note that the cost of acquiring a classic gray BIXI is $1,437, while that of a blue electric BIXI is $3317.
The City indicates that it has submitted a grant application under the Financial Assistance Program for the Development of Active Transportation in Urban Areas (TAPU) , which allows you to obtain up to $2 million in reimbursement.
This is the first year that not all BIXIs are stored away for the winter. (File photo)
Last year, BXI had (another) record season with nearly 12 million trips. A record which will possibly be broken in 2024, since the BIXIs are rolling for the first time in winter in the metropolis. service will take its winter report later this spring, but online data indicates that 54,548 trips were made in January and 70,274 in February.
- Mathias Marchal (View profile)Mathias MarchalFollow