BIXI Montréal will increase its prices again in 2024, after a first full year of activity marked by further increases in ridership. Around 576,000 cyclists took part in 2023, a record which represents a jump of 31%.
The season pass, valid from April 15 to November 15, will increase from $99 to $107 in 2024, an increase of 8%. The monthly subscription, for its part, will increase from $20 to $22 for the next year.
As a general rule, the first 45 minutes of regular bicycle use are included for each subscriber’s trip, but a per-minute rate is added thereafter. This figure will increase from 11 to 17 cents per minute for a standard bike this year, and from 13 to 17 cents per minute for an electric bike.
As for occasional users, the release price for a one-way ticket will be adjusted from $1.25 to $1.35. The price per minute, which is included from the start without a subscription, will increase by 15 to 20 cents per minute for a standard bike and by 30 to 35 cents per minute for an electric bike.
These new rates will apply from 1er March. A “pre-season” sale will, however, allow you to purchase a seasonal title at $96, or $3 less than last year, but only between the 1er and next April 15.
BIXI claims to have to increase its prices “in order to guarantee the service appreciated by citizens, maintain the maintenance of equipment, continue to increase the supply of regular and electrically assisted bicycles and see to the installation of the growing network”. The organization also plans to “carry out hardware and technological upgrades while continuing to deploy its network to meet sustained demand”.
This autumn, The Press notably reported that BIXI would acquire “megastations” starting this year to tackle the recurring problem of empty or inaccessible stations in certain sectors. Real crossroads containing up to 400 anchor points should appear in 2024 in the heart of the metropolis.
Ridership still on the rise
In a press release, the organization revealed Tuesday that its traffic reached “more than 576,000 users in 2023”, an increase of 31% compared to the year 2022. This had already been a record year with a 55% user growth compared to 2021.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
BIXI Montreal revealed Tuesday that its ridership reached “more than 576,000 users in 2023”
In total, “more than 11.7 million trips were made last year by users, with several higher peaks of more than 70,000 trips per day,” adds BIXI, which was testing for the first time in its history a service in winter, with around 150 stations.
The bike-sharing network will have a total of more than 11,000 bikes this season, including 2,620 electrically assisted bikes. Two-wheelers will be distributed in approximately 934 stations, a notable increase compared to the 865 anchor points in 2023. The latter will be located mainly in Montreal, but also in Westmount, Mont-Royal, Montréal-Est, Longueuil, Laval , Boucherville and Terrebonne.
All this comes at a time when the organization is carrying out a major update of its infrastructure, the largest in the last 15 years. In total, 1000 bicycles will be replaced each year for the next 10 years. The oldest cars, the so-called “first generation” bikes which hit the streets of Montreal 15 years ago, should be replaced within two or three years.
This vast operation occurs in a period of strong “commercial competition for the acquisition of equipment and bicycles” and the rise in inflation, recalls BIXI. The group is also facing an increase in labor costs and the size of its staff.