BIXI Montréal: city-owned bikes, non-profit operator, operator-held data
BIXI launched in May 2009 with 3,000 bikes and 300 modular stations that needed no excavation and came out again for the winter, and the Montreal-built equipment was then sold to London, Toronto, New York, Boston and Washington. Its maker went bankrupt in January 2014 owing about CAD 50M; the city bought the local assets for CAD 11.9M and created BIXI Montréal, a non-profit, to run them. The city still buys the hardware — a CAD 5.16M federal contribution for electrifying stations in 2025 went to the Ville de Montréal, not to BIXI — but the copyright in the published trip history is claimed by the operator, not the city. The network carried 14.5 million trips in 2025 across 13 municipalities and now runs through the winter.
14.5 million trips in 2025, roughly 9 per cent above 2024, and the 100 millionth trip since 2009 (BIXI figures). The 2025 network was 12,600 bikes, 3,200 of them electric, at close to 1,000 stations in 13 municipalities; winter service, permanent since 2024-25 after a pilot in which 93,000 people made nearly a million trips, keeps 234 stations and 2,300 studded-tyre bikes running from 16 November to 14 April.
🎓 Lesson
Buying the hardware did not buy the data: Montreal owns and electrifies the stations, yet the trip history on the city's own open data portal states that the intellectual property and copyright are held by BIXI Montréal. Nor did it fix the fare lever to the city — BIXI announces its own January increases, and the seasonal pass has gone from CAD 99 in 2023 to CAD 115 in 2026 while members get no free minutes at all on e-bikes: a 45-minute electric trip costs CAD 8.55, computed from Montreal's own posted rate of 19 cents a minute. The posted price list carries no income-eligible fare, only a 10 per cent group rate.
Evidence🏛️ Official
Scale🗺️ Regional
CostCAD 108M 2011 bailout (CAD 37M loan plus CAD 71M in guarantees); CAD 11.9M paid for the local assets in 2014; CAD 5.5M/yr city development envelope 2026-2028
FundingVille de Montréal owns the assets and funds expansion, user fees cover operations; CAD 5.16M federal Canada Public Transit Fund contribution for station electrification 2025-2027
Sources
↗ BIXI Montréal — Who we are (operator)Operator's own statement of legal form: 'BIXI Montréal is a non-profit organization created in 2014 by the city of Montréal to manage its bike-sharing system.' Same page: 'more than 13,000 bikes (including 3,500 electric BIXIs) and more than 1 000 stations'.
↗ Ville de Montréal open data — BIXI Historique des déplacementsThe ownership finding, read directly on the page: 'Les droits de propriété intellectuelle et le droit d'auteur de cet ensemble de données sont détenus par BIXI Montréal' — the IP and copyright in the trip dataset are held by BIXI Montréal, the operator, not the city. Licence 'Creative Commons avec attribution', which permits commercial reuse with credit to BIXI Montréal. Coverage from 15 April 2014, updated monthly.
↗ Ville de Montréal open data — BIXI État des stationsReal-time GBFS station feed on the city portal, publishing organisation listed as BIXI Montréal, carrying the identical IP notice: 'la paternité des données doit être attribuée à BIXI Montréal'.
↗ Open Government Canada — grant record, station electrificationRecipient is 'Ville de Montréal', not BIXI: CAD 5,164,674 from the Fonds pour le transport en commun du Canada, 13 November 2025 to 31 March 2027, to electrify bike-share stations and acquire new equipment. Evidence that the capital assets sit with the city.
↗ BIXI Montréal — Pricing (operator, read 2026-07-26)Posted rates: one-way CAD 1.60 unlocking fee plus 21 cents/min regular or 36 cents/min electric; monthly CAD 24 per 30 days; seasonal CAD 115 for 15 April to 15 November with 0-45 min included on regular bikes then 19 cents/min, and electric bikes at 19 cents/min for members with no included minutes. Only discount listed is 10 per cent for groups of 20 or more; no income-eligible fare is posted.
↗ BIXI Montréal — Year-round service (operator)'Following the results of 2023's pilot project' the winter service became permanent from 2024-25: 234 stations and 2,300 regular BIXIs with studded tires and non-slip pedals, 16 November 2025 to 14 April 2026, 24/7, across 10 Montreal boroughs plus Westmount and Montréal-Est. In the 2023-24 pilot '93,000 people used BIXI to make nearly one million trips'.
↗ CNW/Newswire — BIXI hits 100 million trips since its launch (2025)Operator release: 100 million trips since 2009, the 50 millionth having come only in 2022; July 2025 an all-time record at 2,340,000 trips; 98,618 trips on 11 June 2025; 12,600 bikes including 3,200 electric at close to 1,000 stations in 13 Quebec cities; Sherbrooke, Saint-Lambert, Saint-Eustache and Deux-Montagnes joined in 2025.
↗ Lyft Urban Solutions — Montreal bike share (supplier)Supplier page: 'Initially launched in 2009, BIXI's fleet comprised 3,000 ICONIC bikes and 300 stations'; e-bikes introduced in 2019 after a pilot; 11.7 million trips in 2023; 'The infrastructure is managed and maintained by BIXI.' The page markets 'Solar Stations' as a product line but does not state that Montreal's current stations are solar-powered, so that claim is not made here.
↗ CBC — Bixi goes bust in Montreal, files for bankruptcy protection (Jan 2014)Public Bike System Company (Société de vélos en libre-service) filed for bankruptcy protection owing about CAD 50M, including money to the City of Montreal; in 2011 council had approved a CAD 108M package, a CAD 37M loan to cover the deficit plus CAD 71M in loan guarantees for the export business. Site returned 403 to automated fetch; outlet, article and figures confirmed by search.
↗ CBC — Bixi saved for the summer (2014)In February 2014 Montreal bought the local assets for CAD 11.9M and set up Bixi Montreal, 'a new not-for-profit organization set up to manage the local operation', with a CAD 460,000 short-term loan and a CAD 165,000 grant to get the 2014 season running. Site returned 403 to automated fetch; confirmed by search.
↗ CBC — Quebec businessman buys Bixi's international operations for CAD 4MThe export arm was severed from the Montreal system in April 2014 and sold to Bruno Rodi for CAD 4M; it was later acquired by Lyft in 2022 and trades as Lyft Urban Solutions. Site returned 403 to automated fetch; confirmed by search.
↗ Global News — Bixi program to lose millions, auditor general says (June 2011)Auditor general Jacques Bergeron, report tabled 20 June 2011: the city and the company had 'no business plan, no serious feasibility studies, no clear financing structure' and no legal authority to launch in May 2009 — 'it's not unreasonable to conclude that the city therefore exceeded its powers'. Accumulated deficit CAD 6.3M, CAD 3M lost overpaying for non-functional pay stations, CAD 1.3M in excess interest on city loans.
↗ Le Devoir — Martinez Ferrada administration halves BIXI financing (2026)Operating funding maintained but the development investment forecast cut by half: CAD 5.5M a year from 2026 to 2028 against the CAD 10.5M to 14M booked by the previous administration. The network is still due to reach 19 municipalities, more than 1,100 stations and about 13,000 bikes with 25 per cent electric by the end of 2026. Site returned 403 to automated fetch; figures confirmed by search across this article and Le Devoir 952422 on the cyclists' protest.
↗ La Presse — BIXI raises fares after another record year (27 Feb 2024)The annual escalation the operator announces itself: seasonal pass from CAD 99 to CAD 107 for 2024, e-bike member rate from 13 to 17 cents a minute; Le Devoir (826443) reports the next step to CAD 112 and 18 cents from 20 January 2025. Today's posted figures are CAD 115 and 19 cents.
↗ PBSC Urban Solutions / Lyft Urban Solutions — corporate historyThe only consolidated list of export customers reached: systems supplied to London, Toronto, New York, Boston, Washington, Melbourne and Minneapolis; stations described as modular, needing 'no excavation beforehand' and installable in about half an hour. Low-authority source used only for the export list; the Toronto leg is independently confirmed by the atlas's own verified Toronto entry, where PBSC's 2014 bankruptcy left the city owed most of a CAD 4.5M loan.
📎 Cite this project
1001 Smart Cities (2026). “BIXI Montréal: city-owned bikes, non-profit operator, operator-held data” — Montreal, Canada. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/montreal-bixi/ (last verified 2026-07-26). Data: CC BY 4.0.
The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.
