Montrealers just wont let Bixi go which is why the system has managed over million trips this summer past, covering 3.5 millions Kilometers, and why Bixi is a stand out success.

They’ve also recently added a 7 speed model to the standard 3 speed version which everyone is curious to try before the bikes are put to bed, for Montreal is not completely flat by any means.

I’m very anxious to know how these Bixis went safety-wise. City cycling is often touted as very dangerous. Perhaps the summer of Bixi will give the lie to that idea

In the meantime, the supposed danger of cycling in general is why Australians are not allowed to decide for themselves whether to wear a helmet or not. They must, period, and shut up about it!

That’s the law and it may also be the reason why neither Australia nor Vancouver, which has a similar plodding helmet law, may never get more than token Bike Share schemea.

True, a contract has just been signed to bring Bixis to Melbourne, but we shall see if they can find anyway around those helmets.

Dispensing a sterilized, tested, helmet on the street, along with the bike, is just not possible. Expecting riders to bring their own, or buy one for the ride, seems quite unlikely.

Here’s a movie report of what Bixi faces in a helmet city.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fF9l0ooic

Oh don’t fret!

You just have to stay out of the system, off the internet, pay with cash, where a funny disguise, etc., etc., etc.

Wherein public and private library systems (such as university college libraries) have the information technology to provide similar services required to check in and check out books they may be readily adapted to assist bike share providing for easy-to-develop low-cost bike systems with additional revenue streams, increased use, and advancement of library systems all within an extremely consilient framework.

Simple implementations could include bike-lock keys embedded in books (such as David Gordon Wilson’s “Bicycle Science”. Advanced implementations could likely include low-cost radio frequency identification (rfid) devices and or electronic keys sent over wireless systems.

The United States Postal Service which tracks mail and packages via barcodes, could also be employed in a similar capacity on a national scale especially the with implementation of low-cost rfids.

Bicycle sales alone could easily ramp up to range between one hundred thousand to one million bicycles or more per year possibly exceeding those of the world’s largest bicycle companies.

Agile adaptation to such rapid positively disruptive change would be an apt challenge for DoT commissioner Sadik-Khan and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Local agile industries such as New York’s motion picture industry and government services like New York City’s Department of Design, Construction and Department of Transportation, and even the New York Police Department could provide the local systemic infrastructure to accommodate, support, and encourage such rapid change; possibly serving as a replicable model for global dispersion by high margin high-talent consulting services developed locally in NYC here and now and virtually overnight.

It should be obvious that allowing much of this extreme economic and human capital opportunity to be developed offsite does not make any sense and would be a tragic lost opportunity.

Rio Tinto Alcan believes that a successful business strategy includes investing in the development of the communities where we live and work; helping them become vibrant, livable, prosperous, safe and sustainable.

Through the Rio Tinto Alcan Canada Fund, Rio Tinto is committed to providing support for community-building initiatives which integrate environmental, economic and social considerations, and which meet the needs of the present while safeguarding our legacy for future generations. We are looking for projects that demonstrate innovation, collaboration, new learning, and inclusion. We want to fund ideas that have the potential for measurable progress toward local sustainability. We want to help make a difference for today and for the future.

from http://www.riotintoalcan.com/ENG/ourapproach/1356_rio_tinto_alcan_canada_fund.asp

Rio Tinto bought Alcan and I imagine part of the deal was to maintain its Canadian charity efforts.

The operator and partner of Bixi in London is Serco.

War Profiteer of the Month: Serco
http://www.wri-irg.org/node/6667

The Government Pension Fund of Norway, Excluded Companies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Government_Pension_Fund_of_Norway#Excluded_companies

Serco Nuclear Weapons
http://www.serco.com/markets/nuclear/index.asp
http://www.serco.com/markets/defence/awe.asp

Municipalities decide that bicycles are not a funding priority, and so in marches Cemusa, Clear Channel and JCDecaux… and now Serco.

Sadly cyclists are mainly silent, e.g.: http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1469

We have done that for CEMUSA with exclusive transportation and street advertising rights. It seems that we have done this for Kawasaki and Bombadier which build our million-dollar subway cars and trains. And, maybe those deals made good economic sense in the past but, it is really important to give significant weight to what can be done here and what we can do for ourselves.

Now it looks like we are going to do the same with bicycle technology the type of readily accessible agile technology New Yorkers are best at easily demonstrated by New York’s $5 billion motion picture industry which is extremely good at building things — exemplified by the extraordinary sets and special effects of the recently finished $200 million film Sorcerer’s Apprentice and other large films — and, by-the-way, extremely dependent on good transportation.

Unlike many of those in the financial industry, there are a lot of people in this town who can actually build things and it is about time this city learns to truly value what they can do, assist in cultivating their critical skills and incomes, and use them well. While these can-do people might not have a large presence at the fanciest hedge fund cocktail parties, this makes the best economic sense.

“New Detroit” by way of Gotham would be a truly formidable engine for positive change locally and globally; and, still remains a substantial opportunity.

doug, i guarantee you are correct, certain media outlets will have a field day the first time something negative happens with bike sharing.

imo the helmets thing is a bit of an issue, but i dont see these bikes being used for high speed bike travel, you are mostly going to be traveling at about a running pace and runners dont wear helmets. plus your head is about the same height off the ground on a bike as it is when you are walking. and of course you could always strap a helmet onto your bag for the times you do use bike sharing.

Montreal has many bike paths at the heart of downtown and the structure of the city really allows for this kind of lifestyle. Drivers and cylcists tend to respect each other and traffic is simply much less crazy than New York City, so it’s been quite effective! It’s funny how people on Bixis recognize eachother, say hi with the bells on the bikes, talk to eachtoher at the stations…I love it, super friendly!

I hope New Yorkers will also embrace this green initiative

@ddartley I also really enjoy the bungee cord myself. I throw everything in there and never had any mishap.

Before Bixis were launched in Montreal, I had the chance to take one for a spin, check out the solar-system generated stations and show people around my fav Montreal’s bike city routes.

The video is available here for all you curious souls: http://bit.ly/ip8Zp

So I hope you enjoy Bixi, and do let me know how it adapts to The Big Apple!

Smiles,

Tamy