Tonight at midnight, BIXI Montreal bikes will officially be back in storage for the winter season. This marks the end of an exceptional 2021 season, one that set several records and earned the company two Leaders in Sustainable Mobility awards by the Centres de gestion des déplacements urbains.
“Over the past year, BIXI Montréal has relied on its exemplary management and capacity to innovate in the face of major challenges. We are extremely optimist and confident going forward into 2022. This season we smashed usage and sales records, a testament to our many initiatives and to the increasing popularity of a bike-sharing service like ours. We’ve also expanded our network of stations and increased the number of power-assisted bicycles available,” said Alexandre Taillefer, Chair of BIXI Montréal’s board of directors.
“This season again, BIXI has shown just how dynamic its service is. We shattered records with a historic 326% increase in new users versus 2020, which also represents a 195% increase from 2019. This past fall was also phenomenal for BIXI with unprecedented levels of usage in September and October. Thanks to our team’s expertise, our flexible structure, and stringent management processes, we were able to adapt to the constantly changing transit habits of commuters in Greater Montreal. We also earned two Leaders in Sustainable Mobility awards, a wonderful recognition from our peers in the industry but also the proof of how attuned we are to our clients’ needs,” said Christian Vermette, BIXI Montréal’s General Manager.
This fall, BIXI Montréal walked away from the 14th edition of the Leaders in Sustainable Mobility awards with two honours. The first, the Precursor Award, recognizes BIXI’s dedication to innovative, constructive actions. In fact, we increased the number of electric bikes in our network to 1,905, making it one of North America’s largest fleets. Second, BIXI Montréal received the People’s Choice Award, proof that Montrealers recognize how our bike-sharing service contributes to our city’s vibrancy and our commitment to improving urban mobility.
A YEAR OF RECORDS FOR BIXI MONTREAL
BIXI is extremely proud to have broken its record for new clients as well as its record for new members with a 70% increase versus last year. These astounding figures confirm the growing interest Montrealers have for our bike-sharing offer and for our new electric bikes.
After we implemented a new monthly rate ($19 versus $36 in 2020, equal to 47% in savings), the sales of this type of subscription jumped from 11,000 to 88,000. Furthermore, in comparison with last year, the total number of trips increased by 74% for a grand total of 5.8 million. In sum, 2021 has been the best year in BIXI’s history.
As a reminder, BIXI enthusiasts were able to borrow one of our bikes six days earlier than our usual opening date (April 9thinstead of April 15th) – making this past season BIXI’s longest one yet!
SUCCESSFUL INITIATIVES
These encouraging statistics for 2021 are thanks to the various initiatives we launched. For instance, we expanded our network with the addition of 725 electric bikes (for a total of 1,905 electric BIXI bikes and 7,270 regular BIXI bikes) and 83 stations (153 in total). In fact, the area we serve is now twice as big. Moreover, our dual-mode stations throughout the city allow users to enjoy unprecedented access to electric bikes.
“Today, BIXI has one of North America’s largest fleets of self-service electric bicycles, proving that this technology can incentivize potential users to discover the benefits of cycling. Even though most clients relied on BIXI bikes in the past to go to work or travel downtown, more and more people are now borrowing standard or electric bikes to run errands, rediscover their neighbourhood, or even just enjoy a leisurely bike ride. With our new flexible rates that are more in line with how cyclists use our bikes, 2021 saw a significant rise in the popularity of BIXI. And the future is bright because we are continuing to innovate to strengthen our status as a leader of bike-sharing services,” said Mr. Vermette.
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