Bixi users to test electric bikes, starting in mid-August

Montreal cyclists will soon have an extra push when using the popular bike-sharing service Bixi.

Next month, the company will introduce 40 electric-assisted bicycles to its network across Montreal, as part of a pilot project to see how electric bikes can be integrated into the current Bixi system.

Anyone will be able to use them for the same price as a regular Bixi bike. The target date to have them in place is Aug. 15, and they'll be available until the end of the Bixi season, on Nov. 15.

"We'll ask the public to give us their opinion … of the bike," said Bixi spokesperson Pierre Parent.

"Our objective is definitely to find out the best system available."

The bicycle is a pedelec, which means the cyclist pedals it like a regular bicycle but the pedalling is assisted by a small electric motor.

"People might want a little help, the wind in their backs, in some way, to travel longer distance," Parent said. 

The electric-assisted bicycles can be used on bike paths and will be equipped with a battery that runs out of juice after about 65 kilometres.

These batteries will be changed daily by Bixi employees, Parent says.

Their speed will be limited to 25 km/h.

Parent said the bicycles are being donated by an as-yet unnamed company for this pilot project and will cost the city and the bike-sharing company no extra money.

Chargeable bikes in Saint-Laurent

On top of the first project, Bixi will be testing a completely different technology in a closed pilot project in the Saint-Laurent borough. These bikes will be rechargeable at storage terminals.

The idea is to find the most appropriate technology in Montreal before launching a call for tenders to expand the service.

"We want to be certain that, when implemented, this system will be as optimal as possible," Parent said.

"Only a few cities have started to introduce electric bikes. It is difficult to have comparisons and results."

The company says it wants to avoid the "disaster" that recently took place in Paris. The launch of a new self-serve bike was criticized by users, who said it had multiple bugs and an insufficient number of stations.

"That's why we want to test two systems," Parent said. "We will evaluate all the data."

This won't be the first project of its kind in the area.

Laval inaugurated its new electric bike-sharing service earlier this month, offering a Bixi-style model with 40 bikes and four service points where users can pick up and drop off bikes.