Bixi must be mandated by the City of Montreal so that a “self-service with anchoring” electric scooter service is available on the island, claims the official opposition to the city council. The company in question believes that this idea is feasible.
Denis Coderre’s former party, Ensemble Montréal, will formalize this request when a motion is tabled at the next city council meeting on June 13.
Montreal already tried the experiment in 2019, but the result turned into a fiasco. Only 20% of the self-service scooters had been parked in the areas provided for this purpose in the City’s regulations and the machines had been scattered on the territory of the island.
However, this mode of transport has not ceased to be popular. Nearly 60% of Montrealers said they wanted self-service electric scooters to return, according to a CROP survey conducted in the summer of 2020. This proportion climbs to 70% among 18-34 year olds.
“We want to come back with a more effective pilot project,” explains Alba Ramos, spokesperson for Ensemble Montréal on active transportation. “Of course it’s a pilot project to learn to see how cohabitation can be done. »
The idea of integrating scooters into Bixi bike terminals has already been analyzed by the company in question. “Bixi Montreal would indeed have the possibility of adding to its existing bike-sharing system the option of self-service (electric) scooters as an operator, if that is what the city wishes, assures Bérengère Thériault. communications from Bixi. This would ensure consistency in the self-service transportation system in the city. »
At the mayor’s office, we want to “offer more options for active and collective mobility to citizens and tourists” and “all ideas in this direction are welcome”, indicates Catherine Cadotte, Valérie’s press officer Plant. The party in power in Montreal, however, intends to wait to discuss it at the municipal council before formalizing a decision.
A city communications officer told the To have to in March that a “decision on the chosen model will be made and announced in the coming months”.