Category — Cycling

While the public popularity of bike share programs is not in doubt — there are about 200 around the world — their ability to turn a profit remains a very large question mark. That’s why the very large cash crisis at Montreal’s Public Bike System Co., the operator of the city’s Bixi system, is making waves around the internet.

But according to one knowledgeable observer on Velolove, one of the city’s most active cyclist listservs, the $37  million bailout with $71 million in loan guarantees is good news.

The one-time project of the the Montreal city parking authority is now heading out on its own, so the cash injection will wipe out accumulated debt while the loan guarantees will drive down future borrowing costs. Bixi is in the middle of a major expansion in cities like New York, Toronto and San Francisco, even though it was hours from coming off the streets in Montreal until Monday’s bailout.

Not all Montreal councillors are convinced Bixi can roll on, but in Toronto, where Bixi is just launching, everyone remains upbeat.  Stay tuned: the Montreal firm is still predicting several years of losses before moving into the black.

Montreal city council has been forced to put up $37 million in cash to cover the Bixi bike share program’s deficit and another $71 million in loan guarantees to help Bixi expand to Ottawa and Toronto.

The decision highlights the reason Vancouver’s request for bike share proposals seeks to minimize the city’s financial risk.

But last month’s Bixi launch in Toronto demonstrates the growing popularity of bike share programs, despite the costs. City councillors in that city who supported Mayor Rob Ford’s opposition to bike lanes and streetcar expansion hailed the new Bixi program.

Toronto’s loan guarantee: $4.8 million to Bixi. Nonetheless, councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, one of Ford’s key supporters, not only loves the bike share program, he’s ready to propose a network of separated bike lanes.

The Vancouver Economic Development Commission today confirmed details of an economic study to monitor the impacts of the city’s new separated bike lanes.

Current data indicates the latest lane, on Hornby, has not produced any significant traffic details and monthly bicycle counts are steadily marching upward.

This study, committed when the Hornby trial was approved, was designed in consultation with downtown business organizations and will be conducted at arms length from the city.

(UPDATE APRIL 19: Thanks to Keith Ippel of the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition for pointing out that the number of cities with public bike share is now well over 200 , not the 80 I reported here.)

Creation of a public bike sharing system in Vancouver took a step closer Friday with the posting of a request for expressions of interest on the city’s web site.

Since the city began exploring the issue in earnest in 2009, the number of cities with public bike share systems has roughly quadrupled to more than 80. A whole host of problems and opportunities have been identified by the first generation of bike share programs, putting Vancouver in a position to create a world class system. Yes, helmets will be part of the mix.

Vancouver’s goal is to have the system up and running in 2012. The RFEOI describes the design work already done by a non-profit organization called Bike Share BC. The system could be delivered by another supplier, by BikeShare BC or a partnership, but the goal is to minimize risk and cost to the city.

In Montreal, meanwhile, the Bixi bike system launched its third season a few days ago with lower prices, more than 5,000 bicycles and over 400 bike stations.