Toronto Bike Share

[just east of the creek]

I appreciated the comment re the bus service, and in my limited use, routes suffer from the same issues the TTC does, too many cars clogging up streets and intersections. There may be other issues, but congestion is certainly one.

My other comment after reading all of the above, and thanks for the stats and input, is that 25 years of a cycling ‘culture’ seems to have bred a differing level of acceptance in Montreal, perhaps a biking generation ahead of where Toronto is currently?

 

[afransen]

Montreal has 184km of Cycle Track or equivalent
Toronto has ~80km

Montreal aiming to get that to 200km by 2027
Toronto is aiming to get to close to the same by 2027

Toronto is adding 120km in 3 years?

 

[afransen]

I appreciated the comment re the bus service, and in my limited use, routes suffer from the same issues the TTC does, too many cars clogging up streets and intersections. There may be other issues, but congestion is certainly one.

My other comment after reading all of the above, and thanks for the stats and input, is that 25 years of a cycling ‘culture’ seems to have bred a differing level of acceptance in Montreal, perhaps a biking generation ahead of where Toronto is currently?

Amsterdamization?

 

[Northern Light]

Toronto is adding 120km in 3 years?

The total goal for new cycling infra is ~100km over 3 years in the 2025-2027 plan.

In addition, this year's plan (2024) should also deliver a significant chunk.

Now, not all of that is cycle track, but a good deal is...........

Yes there are some small bits w/sharrows, and a few contra-flow bike lanes, but I think you'll find, on balance, the majority is either cycle track or multi-use path.

Ability to deliver is always a bit of a flyer, from Council approval to second parties (other city units) and 3rd party agencies/corps....... still, I think its within reach.

 

[allengeorge]

That’s the effect of starting building out dedicated bike infrastructure years before Toronto, and their bike share service starting 2 years before ours.

Montreal has 184km of Cycle Track or equivalent
Toronto has ~80km

Montreal aiming to get that to 200km by 2027
Toronto is aiming to get to close to the same by 2027

I wonder if part of it is also where those 184km are, and what they connect. I haven’t visited Montreal in ages, so I can’t compare before and after - but I do know that in NYC, for example, the bike-‘friendly’ grid (this is key) expanded a lot during- and post- COVID. That, combined with a massive e-Bike rollout caused an explosion in bike usage.

Used to be that you had to be somewhat gutsy to bike around Manhattan, but with more pedestrian streets, hardened lanes, etc. you can actually make it from point A to B without playing Frogger in a lot of the island.

 

[Northern Light]

I wonder if part of it is also where those 184km are, and what they connect. I haven’t visited Montreal in ages, so I can’t compare before and after - but I do know that in NYC, for example, the bike-‘friendly’ grid (this is key) expanded a lot during- and post- COVID. That, combined with a massive e-Bike rollout caused an explosion in bike usage.

Used to be that you had to be somewhat gutsy to bike around Manhattan, but with more pedestrian streets, hardened lanes, etc. you can actually make it from point A to B without playing Frogger in a lot of the island.

This is the map of protected bike lanes (Cycle Tracks) for the heart of Montreal:

 

[allengeorge]

Hmm. At first glance Toronto appears to have more of a dedicated lane grid downtown, so maybe it’s also vehicular volume in Montreal?

(Source: https://www.toronto.ca/services-pay...ocation=&lat=43.582380&lng=-79.418793&zoom=10 - though I do wish we had the capability to turn off different lane types)

Also, the full map makes it clear that Toronto does have good cycling bones, and if we could patch up our trail gaps, would be incredible to cycle through the city.

 

[slicecom]

View attachment 568890

Hmm. At first glance Toronto appears to have more of a dedicated lane grid downtown, so maybe it’s also vehicular volume in Montreal?

(Source: https://www.toronto.ca/services-pay...ocation=&lat=43.582380&lng=-79.418793&zoom=10 - though I do wish we had the capability to turn off different lane types)

Also, the full map makes it clear that Toronto does have good cycling bones, and if we could patch up our trail gaps, would be incredible to cycle through the city.

Looks like Montreal has better long distance connections, but Toronto has a much better grid already, though there are numerous small links that still need to be made.

 

[allengeorge]

In many ways Toronto _can_ be the ideal city to bike around: fairly flat, easy grid, potential for off-street multi-use trails throughout the city…

We need an ‘everything’ approach: more hardened lanes, a more connected trail network, expanded bike share, and lower, slower vehicular traffic (this one is hardest, I think).

 

[Northern Light]

Ridership is growing here though:

x.com

t.co

The above courtesy of @Allandale25

 

[PL1]

As others have commented, bike availability is a big problem as far as I can see. Bikes not at high use stations, or stuck at lower use stations. I'm pretty much a daily user as long as there isn't snow on the road, or it isn't raining.

Anecdote time: The two stations closest to me (Danforth west of Woodbine) are frequently (about 50% of the time in late spring/summer) out of working bikes by 7 am. I've taken to checking the app as I leave home to decide which station to go to, which has definitely saved me a few times. The stations at Sunnybrook Hospital frequently run out of bikes at the end of the day (4:30 ish). I walked the 1.5km into the valley (Sunnybrook Park) to the first station there to grab a bike earlier this week. The stations in the valley often have more bikes than are used during weekdays.

Anyway, it would be great if Bike Share could redeploy bikes a bit better. But I am by and large happy with the program.

 

[reinventingthewheel]

Regarding availability/distribution issues: aside from the mountain, Montreal has a gentler terrain than Toronto and it definitely influences travel patterns for users.

Montreal Topographic Map
Toronto Topographic Map

Everyone loves riding downhill, which is generally southbound in Toronto. But if there’s a reasonable alternative to cycling uphill we, as recreational users, are inclined to choose it. As the cycling network grows to the north around Eglinton, I imagine we will need a lot of bike share restocks up there.

 

[just east of the creek]

Regarding availability/distribution issues: aside from the mountain, Montreal has a gentler terrain than Toronto and it definitely influences travel patterns for users.

Montreal Topographic Map
Toronto Topographic Map

Everyone loves riding downhill, which is generally southbound in Toronto. But if there’s a reasonable alternative to cycling uphill we, as recreational users, are inclined to choose it. As the cycling network grows to the north around Eglinton, I imagine we will need a lot of bike share restocks up there.

I am not sure I would completely agree with this comment. Mont Royal and the plateau have a huge influence, and the changes in topography are significant riding into the ‘downtown’ area, or east words towards Olympic Park, or to the west and then towards the river as you cycle around the mountain.

 

[PL1]

I've tested reporting issues with the bike on both apps. On the new app (screenshot of version below, running on Android) I can only report that there is an issue, but not provide details.

On the old PBSC app, I can provide details about the issue. I assume this functionality will be added to the new app.

New:

Old:

 

[evandyk]

I had the same issue yesterday. I got a bike where the seat post didn't close tightly enough, so it kept sinking down as I went over bumps. I reported it, but couldn't clarify that it was just the seat, and not something that disabled the bike. This was the ios app.