Montreal BIXI season is officially starting — here are all the opening dates and prices
Good news, cyclists! Montreal BIXI season is now officially in session with over 60% of the network opening Tuesday afternoon (around 549 stations) — the earliest start the city has ever seen.
In addition to announcing the launch of the 2024 season, the bike-sharing service also revealed the dates that the rest of the network will be in service, explained how to find out which stations are currently open, confirmed this season's prices and provided an update on the results of the year-round pilot project.
Opening Dates
According to the BIXI website, the April 2 opening includes service throughout Montreal, as well as in Westmount, the Town of Mount Royal, Montreal East and Boucherville. Some stations in Laval and Longueuil are also set to open the same week.
As of April 8, 85% of the usual Montreal BIXI network will be operational "with more stations added throughout the Island of Montreal," the site says. It also notes that surrounding areas will "begin an accelerated schedule for station openings" around this time.
The official season launch, at which point the entire network will be in service in all cities (Island of Montreal, Longueuil, Laval, Boucherville and Terrebonne), is expected to take place on April 15.
If you want to know which stations are open and which ones are closed, head to the station map on the BIXI website or check the BIXI app. Click on the pin icons to find out whether each station is stocked with bikes or not.
Prices
In terms of prices, rates are going up this year, which BIXI attributes to "guarantee[ing] the service that users know and love so well, maintain[ing] the equipment, continu[ing] to increase the number of regular and electric bikes in the fleet, grow[ing] the network and expand[ing] the electric network" as well updating materials and technology.
In 2024, the BIXI network will have over 11,000 bikes, including 2,620 electric bikes, distributed among 934 stations in eight different cities. The plan is to add new equipment to the Montreal network throughout the season, according to a BIXI press release.
If you're buying a seasonal pass, you'll want to move quickly. It'll cost you $96 until April 15 — $3 less than the regular rate last year. After that, the price goes up to $107. With a seasonal pass (April 15 to November 15), regular bike rides are free for the first 45 minutes and then $0.17 per minute. Electric bikes are $0.17 per minute from the jump. No unlocking fees or security deposits are required.
Otherwise, there are two more options:
Monthly Pass:
- $22 per month
- Regular bike: $0.17 per minute (first 45 minutes included)
- Electric bike: $0.17 per minute
- No security deposit or unlocking fee
One-Way:
- $1.35 unlocking fee
- Regular bike: $0.20 per minute
- Electric bike: $0.35 per minute
- Security deposit: $100 per bike
Year-round Service
Following a pilot project that kept 150 Montreal BIXI stations in use throughout winter, BIXI Montreal announced Tuesday that year-round service would be continuing in the coming years.
"Between November 16, 2023 and March 17, 2024, a month before the end of the pilot project in the limited testing area, 53,000 individuals used the service and an average of 3,727 trips were recorded per day, which exceeded the initial estimates," the press release says.
"Over the next few weeks, BIXI will be analyzing what went well during the trial period, as well as what challenges were faced and what elements need to be improved, in order to make their recommendations. The City of Montreal and BIXI will be formalizing the future parametres of the year-round service next fall, particularly regarding fees and service areas."
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A map of the winter bike BIXI stations that will be available during the winter.
A Montrealer bikes in the winter on a road behind cars.