Toronto Bike Share

[DSCToronto]

I joined Bixi last year but have not yet got my Bixi card - have other members got cards yet??

 

[Molybdenum]

I joined Bixi last year but have not yet got my Bixi card - have other members got cards yet??

According to the Bixi Toronto facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BIXItoronto) they mailed them out yesterday.

 

[landscapeurbanismTO]

Yea! Finally. There are so many good things to say about Bixi.
The Queens Quay/York shot reminds me so much of Amsterdam's typical streetscapes...oh, how I reminisce.
The first time I tried a Bixi bike was 2 years ago back in Montreal, I too finally had the chance to see Habitat 67 and the geodesic dome because of the system. Without it I would not have done so, the walk from the downtown to the old Expo site seemed sooooo daunting though I could have taken the metro instead.
A local told me once how to get an unlimited amount of rides in one day by paying the min. 30min. price, once you do that and just before your 30 mins. is up go to the nearest docking station, set it back and put in your password again to retrieve the bike. I don't sound to be cheap but it was definitely a fun way of seeing the other side of the city with that trick.

 

[landscapeurbanismTO]

Also, this critical mass on the downtown road system will put pressure on the politicians to address road safety and bike lanes. They'll also realize tourists will enjoy this type of activity by touring the city. It'll definitely boost our tourism appeal.

 

[taal]

Also, this critical mass on the downtown road system will put pressure on the politicians to address road safety and bike lanes. They'll also realize tourists will enjoy this type of activity by touring the city. It'll definitely boost our tourism appeal.

Interestingly enough Ford pushed for this bike safety - that is, he didn't want to see bike lanes built as a painted line, rather he wanted some sort of grade separation.

 

[AnnetteMeetsJane]

Interestingly enough Ford pushed for this bike safety - that is, he didn't want to see bike lanes built as a painted line, rather he wanted some sort of grade separation.

Aaaah yes, purely out of concern for his bike-riding constituents... With a mayor who cares like ours does, who needs urban enemies!

 

[dunkalunk]

Interestingly enough Ford pushed for this bike safety - that is, he didn't want to see bike lanes built as a painted line, rather he wanted some sort of grade separation.

You mean like bikes in tunnels?

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

You mean like bikes in tunnels?

He doesn't want to see bicycles; so tunnels (or sewers), routes in river valleys, or along roads he does not drive on would be fine.

 

[rbt]

He doesn't want to see bicycles; so tunnels (or sewers), routes in river valleys, or along roads he does not drive on would be fine.

He also isn't willing to increase the bicycle lane budget. A job like Maisonneuve would eat 10 years worth of Toronto bicycle lane money for a 100m stretch.

 

[Chuck]

How will bixi deal with commuter hoarding once it extends just beyond downtown? I foresee hundreds of students and downtown office workers renting bikes first thing in the morning, riding them to universities and the downtown core where they will sit empty for most of the day, then taking those same bikes back to the fringe areas in the evening. During the day, there could be too few bikes in fringe areas, and more bikes than there are docking stations downtown. What do you do if you try to return a bike, but all of the racks in the nearest 10 blocks are full?

From a logistical perspective, what makes car sharing possible is that you rent and return the car to the same lot. Bixi may seriously have to employ a team of full time cyclists to ensure that bikes are well distributed throughout the city at all times of the day.

 

[nfitz]

The only solution is to provide ample supply so that there would be enough bikes, and spots, that there is still bikes available ... and not worry as long as they all end up proportioned well at the end of the day.

How do other cities deal with this?

 

[DSCToronto]

The only solution is to provide ample supply so that there would be enough bikes, and spots, that there is still bikes available ... and not worry as long as they all end up proportioned well at the end of the day. How do other cities deal with this?

This 'commuter hoarding' certainly does happen in Montreal but they seem to deal with it by carefully monitoring things and as necessary increasing the number of stations and bikes. I think that they actually move some bikes around by truck but when I saw that it may have just been additional (or repaired?) bikes.

 

[ShonTron]

Bixi has a truck navigating the streets redistributing the bikes and also to support maintenance. Their biggest hassle is all the Plateau hipsters who bike down, but don't bother biking back up. Toronto would have a similar issue keeping Bixis north of the CP tracks if the zone is expanded.

 

[Markster]

They could institute variable pricing, based on location and time of day.

i.e. Make it more expensive to:
Ride towards downtown in the morning,
Ride out of downtown in the afternoon,
Go downhill

They could just watch and see which stands get crowded, and effectively charge a premium to dock at them.
Of course, then you start getting a complicated pricing scheme, and the "first half hour is free!" thing goes out the window.

 

[rbt]

How will bixi deal with commuter hoarding once it extends just beyond downtown?

Generally by picking up bikes from full racks and dropping them off at empty ones.

Montreal has several teams driving pickups moving bikes from over-full stations to empty ones.