BIXI available for essential travel – The decision to proceed with the launch of BIXI services on the scheduled date was made in collaboration with the City of Montreal and Montreal’s regional public health department in order to facilitate essential travel as well as the daily lives of workers who remain at the service of citizens in the context of COVID-19. Moreover, in order to support health care personnel who are redoubling their efforts during this exceptional period, and to offer an additional option to facilitate their commute, BIXI will offer a free 30-day subscription to all employees of Montreal’s public health and social service institutions.
FREE SUBSCRIPTION FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH NETWORK
Over the next few days, employees of the Montreal health and social services network in 10 institutions and more than 300 facilities (hospitals, CLSCs, CHSLDs, youth centres, etc.) will be able to have access to instructions on how to take advantage of the program via their employer.
BIXI available for essential travel
Note that no fewer than 207 health care institutions are located within 500 metres of a BIXI station and that all of these stations are serviced by the metro.
“On behalf of BIXI Montreal, I would like to thank all of our dedicated employees, who made it possible to put the BIXI network into service despite this extreme and unprecedented situation. I also salute the front-line workers who continue to go to work every day, especially the health care staff, true guardian angels who watch over us with their invaluable work. We wish to support them by offering them a free 30-day subscription,” stated Marie Elaine Farley, Chair of BIXI Montreal’s Board of Directors.
In the current context, the use of BIXI bikes is encouraged for essential trips only. It is important to remember that people with symptoms compatible with COVID-19, as well as suspected or confirmed cases, should be in isolation and should not be in public places, nor should they use the bike-sharing service. In addition, a minimum distance of two metres must be maintained between cyclists and other people in order to respect the social distancing strategies implemented by the government.
USER INSTRUCTIONS AND NEW PROTOCOLS FOR DISINFECTING AND CLEANING EQUIPMENT
In the context of COVID-19, BIXI Montreal has implemented important measures that comply with the recommendations of the regional public health department. These include new protocols for disinfecting and cleaning bikes and the various equipment of the bike-sharing service, as well as new instructions for users. Users can consult all of these recommendations on the Bixi.com website. Instructions are also available on all BIXI communication platforms and at each station throughout the network.
For example, BIXI will implement new procedures for disinfecting surfaces frequently handled on bikes (seat and seatpost collars, grips, plastic surfaces of handlebars), transaction terminals (terminals) and docks (touch pads). The use of the BIXI key or the mobile application is also recommended for rentals. Instructions to users include frequent hand washing with soap and water (for 20 seconds) or with an alcohol-based disinfectant solution (e.g. Purell) before and after using the bike, avoiding face touching, and maintaining a minimum distance of two metres between cyclists and other people. These same general preventive measures apply to employees responsible of the maintenance of all BIXI equipment in the warehouse and on the road.
About Bixi Montreal
- Coverage as of April 15, 2020: 610 stations /14,674 docks /142 km2 served /17 boroughs and 3 cities (Westmount, the Town of Mount Royal and Laval)
- Number of regular bikes: 7,270
- Number of electric bikes: 160 at the beginning of the season and 1,000 new E-BIXI bikes this summer
- Number of users: 318,675 in 2019 (+31% compared to 2018)
- Number of trips made: 5.83 million in 2019 (+8% compared to 2018)
- Days in operation: 214
- Average daily trips: 26,864 in 2019 (+10% compared to 2018)
- 81% growth in trips over the past 5 years
- Since the launch of BIXI in 2008, BIXISTS have made nearly 44 million trips.
BIXI Montreal is a non-profit organization created by the City of Montreal to manage its bike-sharing system. In 2020, the network will include 610 stations, 7,270 regular bikes and 1,160 electric bikes on the territory of Montreal, as well as in Westmount, the Town of Mount Royal, Longueuil and Laval. For more information, please visit the BIXI Montreal website.
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