Brockville Climate Action Group

Montreal Gazette / Christopher Maughan / 11 June 2008

Montrealers will get to try North America's first self-serve bicycle rental system as early as this fall, said André Lavallée, the city's executive committee member in charge of transportation.

The new system will feature public bike stations set up across the city where commuters will be able to use a credit card, rent a bike for a minimal fee and then drop it off at a second station near their intended destination.

Lavallée and industrial designer Michel Dallaire unveiled the bike's design yesterday at a news conference. Dallaire said he had improved on existing designs for self-serve rentals, which are typically vulnerable to rust because they're made of steel.

"Unlike the bikes in Europe, ours will be made entirely of aluminum," Dallaire said.

"We've had everything tested by engineers and they've confirmed its structural integrity.

''After all, these bikes have to be extremely durable - we want them to have a life cycle of five years."

Though the hardware will be a bit different, Lavallée said the system's pricing structure will be modelled on those already in place for self-serve renters in Paris, Lyon and Barcelona.

Typically, users pay a small fee for the first half hour, after which the price rises exponentially.

"The idea is not to have people renting bikes for a long joyride," Lavallée said. "We want to encourage people to use these bikes in a utilitarian way, for short trips."

Stationnement de Montréal, a company that owns many downtown parking lots, will be footing the $15-million bill for the project. Roger Plamondon, chairperson of the company's board, said that whatever the cost, the new system will be "the cheapest mode of transportation in North America."

Both Plamondon and Lavallée said they expect Montrealers will be quick to embrace the system.

"Given the hundreds of people arguing on sites like Facebook about the design of the Montreal bike, its components and the lessons to be learned from other cities that have tried this, I think the project is going to be a resounding success," Lavallée said.

Come September, his prediction will be put to the test: That's when the city will install the first four of its self-serve stations, each of which will feature 10 bikes.

The stations - all of which are portable - will be moved around the boroughs of Ville Marie, Plateau Mont Royal and Rosemont/Petite Patrie so that as many people as possible get a chance to test them before the project's full implementation, which will happen in those boroughs next spring.

By then, the city will have 2,400 bikes in circulation and 300 stations at which to leave them.

Cyclists along the de Maisonneuve Blvd. bike path yesterday said the self-serve system is a good idea, at least in theory.

But they wondered whether the city is ready for it.

"It works in Europe, so who knows?" said Peter Elgee, a self-described veteran of bicycle commuting.

"The problem is that we don't have the same kind of cycling culture here. Drivers here make right-hand turns and they don't even look for us," Elgee pointed out.

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Tech specs on city bikes

- 3 speeds, with all gear and brake cables covered to prevent tampering.
- Adjustable seat tilted at 20 degrees so it gets farther from the handlebars as it's raised.
- 26-inch wheels, which are about average mountain-bike size.
- LEDs and reflectors on each side.
- Bag rack on front handlebars.

[ ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE ]