das ist doch mal eine idee für kanada und die ölindustrie wird sicher hoch erfreud sein
Montreal rolls out bike-sharing plan City launches first Canadian program to offer car-centric residents a different set of wheels
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INGRID PERITZ
From Monday's Globe and Mail
September 22, 2008 at 4:50 AM EDT
MONTREAL — Paris has Vélib, Barcelona has Bicing, and as of today, Montreal will start to showcase its own European-style bike-sharing program with a fetching name: Bixi.
The city better known for Grand Prix racing and automobile worship rolled out a green, two-wheeled alternative that civic officials hope will help re-brand Montreal into one of North America's most bicycle-friendly cities.
Bixi - a contraction of bicycle and taxi - offers up a straightforward formula: Use a membership-acquired "smart" key or credit card to unlock a bike at a docking station. Ride. Return the bike to a station at any location.
"It's the most revolutionary bicycle on the planet," Mayor Gérald Tremblay said after pedalling to yesterday's launch on the recyclable aluminum bike. "We're very proud, because we believe this self-service bicycle will be an icon for Montreal."
The sleek-but-sturdy bikes are the emblems of a growing international movement to promote bicycle-sharing in a day of greenhouse-gas consciousness and rising fuel prices. About 100 cities worldwide, most in Europe, have embraced high-tech bike-sharing programs, and a number of Canadian cities, including Toronto, are examining the idea.
Many have found inspiration in Paris's wildly successful Vélib program; its 20,600 bikes have already been used on 27 million rides. Washington, D.C., became the first city in North America to unveil its own program with 120 bikes this summer. Those familiar with American schemes say Montreal's is the most ambitious.
"It's probably going to be the largest bike-sharing program in North America," said Paul DeMaio, a bike-sharing consultant in the Washington, D.C., area who writes The Bike-Sharing Blog. "I think Montreal's is going to be one of the best."
Montreal's program - 40 bikes will be on demonstration for free for the next six weeks - will get its official rollout in the spring, with 2,400 bicycles available at 300 stations across the city.
Ja, Paris hat's, Montreal wird es (dank Paris) einführen und Ottawa/Gatineau denkt auch schon (dank Paris und Montreal) drüber nach. Wäre gut auch für Ottawa, denn schliesslich hat die Stadt gute Radwege, etwas mehr wäre aber noch besser.
Das Kanada Forum
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22.09.2008 22:02
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