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A pilot project will allow users to rent BIXI bikes from 15 stations with an Opus card starting on August 1, 2016. This innovative pilot project makes Montreal one of the first cities in North America to implement a payment system joining public transit with a bike-sharing system.
Montreal, July 13, 2016 – Ms. Marie Elaine Farley, chairperson of BIXI MONTRÉAL's board of directors, Mr. Philippe Schnobb, chairperson of the board of directors of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), as well as Ms. Elsie Lefebvre, Associate Transport Councilor for the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal, were all present at Victoria Square to unveil the first BIXI Opus station for the pilot project which will allow users to rent BIXI bikes from 15 stations with an Opus card starting on August 1, 2016. This innovative pilot project makes Montreal one of the first cities in North America to implement a payment system joining public transit with a bike-sharing system.
Up until the end of the BIXI season on November 15, Opus card holders from across Quebec will be able to use their card to rent a bike from one of the fifteen BIXI Opus stations in the BIXI network, as long as they have preregistered at bixi.com. Customers will be able to buy a one-way access pass directly at the new touchless card readers at BIXI pay stations for a quick and easy transaction, without a security deposit.
"We are pleased with all of the BIXI-STM projects that have been offered to customers since our working committee was formed in April 2015, in particular BIXI keys being made available at 6 STM service points. Making the BIXI network more accessible for users and increasing bike sharing is one of our priorities. The BIXI Opus Pilot Project meets these objectives while allowing our respective customers to try a new fast, easy and safe method of payment," said Ms. Farley.
Mr. Schnobb added that "with this initiative, we would like to help those customers who choose to use sustainable transport. It's a big step towards more extensive integrated transport."
PREREGISTRATION ON BIXI.COM
Customers wanting to participate in the pilot project should preregister at bixi.com under the section BECOME A MEMBER -> OPUS. Once they have registered, they will be able to use their Opus card at all BIXI Opus stations. BIXI rates and user conditions are the same as usual.
DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE FROM AUGUST 1 TO 31: ONE-WAY ACCESS PASSES FOR $2.00 FOR REGULAR PUBLIC TRANSIT USERS
To encourage Opus card holders to participate in the pilot project, one-way access passes will be available for $2.00 from August 1 through 31 for holders of monthly passes or longer from a transport company that uses Opus cards (regular price: $2.95).
“This project has showed us how different public transport and active transport companies can come together to improve services for Montrealers. BIXI-Montréal and STM coming together is a sign of good things to come,” Ms. Lefebvre outlined.
List of the 15 BIXI Opus Stations
- GASPÉ / MARMIER
- MÉTRO PLACE-D’ARMES
- MÉTRO SAINT-LAURENT
- SQUARE VICTORIA
- DE MAISONNEUVE / DE BLEURY
- MÉTRO LAURIER
- MÉTRO MONT-ROYAL
- CHATEAUBRIAND / BEAUBIEN
- DE LA COMMUNE / KING
- SQUARE SAINT-LOUIS
- MÉTRO LUCIEN-L’ALLIER
- DE LA GAUCHETIÈRE / ROBERT-BOURASSA
- DE LA GAUCHETIÈRE / MANSFIELD
- BERRI / SAINTE-CATHERINE
- GOSFORD / CHAMP DE MARS
This project was made possible through collaboration with the AOTs (Autorités organisatrices de transport) associated with OPUS (STM, RTC, AMT, STL, RTL, Société de transport de Lévis, AQTIM) and especially through the support of the BIXI and STM technical teams, as well as 8D Technologies, one of BIXI's suppliers.
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For more information
BIXI MONTRÉAL
Bérengère Thériault, Porte-parole - Service des communications
communications@biximontreal.com
Cell : 514 999-6493
Société de transport de Montréal
Amélie Régis, Conseillère corporative - Affaires publiques
amelie.regis@stm.info
Tél.: 514 280-5508
Ville de Montréal
Marc-André Gosselin, Attaché de presse - Cabinet du maire et du comité exécutif
marc-andreg.gosselin@ville.montreal.qc.ca
Tél. 514 290-1194
ABOUT BIXI MONTRÉAL
BIXI-Montreal is a non-profit organization created by the Ville de Montréal to manage the bike-sharing system in Montreal. The network has 5,200 bikes and 460 stations in Montreal, Longueuil and Westmount.
ABOUT MANULIFE, BIXI-MONTREAL'S MAIN PARTNER
Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group providing forward-thinking solutions to help people with their big financial decisions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States, and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance and wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2015, we had approximately 34,000 employees, 63,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving 20 million customers. At the end of March 2016, we had $904 billion (US$697 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made more than $24.9 billion in benefits, interest and other payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong. Follow Manulife on Twitter @ManulifeNews or visit www.manulife.com or www.johnhancock.com.
ABOUT LA PRESSE, BIXI-MONTREAL'S MEDIA PARTNER
La Presse is a French-language newspaper of reference in Canada and its content is available on several platforms (digital edition for tablets, mobile apps, web, paper). La Presse stands out for its distinctive, rich and diversified coverage of the news. A recipient of numerous distinctions for the quality of its content and presentation, La Presse is also recognized for its series and in-depth articles, as well as for the large space it dedicates to debates. La Presse+, the free digital edition of the paper, uses all of the multifunctional capabilities of a tablet and offers the most complete news experience ever offered by the largest newsroom in Quebec.
