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News Flash

BIXI Toronto station locations revealed

Posted by Derek Flack / April 26, 2011

28 Comments

Bixi TorontoBixi Toronto has a new website in anticipation of the program's launch on May 3rd, the key feature of which is an interactive map that plots out where the initial 80 stations will be located. A small but welcome surprise here is that there will be a couple stations located outside of the core zone, bounded by Bloor, Jarvis and Spadina. Of these, the one located in the heart of Kensington Market will surely be the most popular — so good on BIXI organizers for thinking outside the box (at least a little).

Although the Bixou app has yet to be updated with Toronto locations, arguably even more valuable is the fact that the station map has been optimized for mobile browsers, which should benefit more than just iPhone users.

A handy pricing chart has also been included on the site, which breaks down the various subscriptions and rental fees. Worthy of note is that those renting bikes for a 24 or 72 hour period are required to provide a $250 credit card deposit along with the rental fee.

Check out the video below if you're into seeing what Toronto's stands look like and visit the website for more information.

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28 Comments

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Matt F. / April 26, 2011 at 11:05 am
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Thank god that paid duty cop was there to watch the action. Plus, letting that man walk under the crane arm was some high quality work. Ugh.
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Bonk / April 26, 2011 at 11:26 am
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Buy a $99 special at Crappy Tire and find yourself getting much more practical use out of it in the first few months compared to a year-long Bixi membership.
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Ian replying to a comment from Bonk / April 26, 2011 at 11:29 am
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Zero maintenance, a bike that won't break down, no need to find storage in your condo...sounds worth the $95 to me. If they reached all the way out to my place (and they will eventually), I'd use them.
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michael s / April 26, 2011 at 01:19 pm
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hopefully toronto's system becomes as extensive as montreal's. hopefully dedicated bike lanes begin to appear too, as they have in montreal
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Pat T / April 26, 2011 at 01:25 pm
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Wish some bike stations were placed west of Spadina, north of Bloor, or East of Jarvis - ie outside the exact same area that is already perfectly served by TTC.
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m / April 26, 2011 at 02:48 pm
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Hopefully people will use it then they will expand it beyond those areas. The more they expand the more it will get used.

We just have to encourage its use within those areas so that they can expand.
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Sean replying to a comment from Pat T / April 26, 2011 at 03:26 pm
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How far would you like to have seen it extended for its initial launch?

Granted, the area they are focused on right now is served well by the TTC but, it is a rather densely populated area that should be able to demonstrate that this can work here.
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Pat T replying to a comment from m / April 26, 2011 at 03:57 pm
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I understand this downtown-only strategy, it just seems counter-intuitive to me to compete head to head with the best of the TTC service. A mild dilution of the bike stations would be nice outside the main downtown core, sprinkling some in from Ossington to Broadview (more sparse the further you get from yonge) - where cycling has an advantage over both car and TTC for rush-hour speed (since north-south TTC service is crap once you go west of Spadina or east of Yonge). In the downtown core the subway still has the advantage, I think. Going Ossington to Broadview would obviously thin out the bike stations. But surely we can expect cyclists to walk at least as far as they would to the subway to take advantage of the service? ... either way, moot point - I look forward to going for a spin.
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Warren / April 26, 2011 at 05:22 pm
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This Derek Flack, so called author of this article is such a moron that he doesn't even explain to the readers what the 'Bixi' program is about.
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m replying to a comment from Pat T / April 26, 2011 at 05:45 pm
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I couldn't agree more. I live on ossington & would love to have this available all the way over here. Hence encouraging usage right now so someday it will!
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Wasted replying to a comment from Warren / April 26, 2011 at 05:51 pm
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This "Warren" is such a moron he can't figure out how to click on the Bixi link at the start of the article.
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Sean replying to a comment from Warren / April 26, 2011 at 06:12 pm
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Use the BlogTO search feature, type in the word "Bixi" and see how many times BlogTO has written about it.

Should BlogTo explain what Bixi is every time they write about it?

Should BlogTO also explain what the TTC is every time they make a posting about the TTC?
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Eric26 replying to a comment from Warren / April 26, 2011 at 07:19 pm
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Or just use Google, like normal people, to find out everything. I don't even answer people when they ask me for information that requires me typing more than a sentence, Google is always more efficient.
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o.k. replying to a comment from Pat T / April 27, 2011 at 03:46 am
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Bingo! You hit it right on the nail. The current service area is already well served. I live @ Broadview and this would indeed be faster during rush hour then hassling with the plugged westbound train. Those outer fringe stations would very popular I'm sure Bixi Toronto would have a hard time keeping them stocked up since everybody would just dump them back in the core. In a dream would they would go up as north as Dupont, in a different galaxy St. Clair.
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Andrew / April 27, 2011 at 10:17 am
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To those commenting that the area served is well served by the TTC consider these BIXI advantages:
- save $6 on a round trip (16 trips and your membership is paid)
- no waiting
- exercise
- wind blowing through your hair
Sounds good to me.
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Claw / April 27, 2011 at 10:58 am
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I was highly anticipating the launch of Bixi in Toronto after enjoying all the benefits of the 500 stations installed around Montreal. It was a real disappointment to see the measly 80 stations in Toronto serving an area that I predominantly walk around. Living just west of the boundaries, it saddens me to say I won't have the opportunity to make much use of the Bixi program in Toronto.

Also, the price is almost $20 more expensive with 5 times less bikes than what Bixi Montreal offers...
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ttraveller replying to a comment from Claw / April 27, 2011 at 01:16 pm
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I am a downtown bikerider and I have used BIXI in Montreal, London and Melbourne. It works because of wide coverage and affordability. Toronto's BIXI has neither. The only reason it made the 1000 cutoff is the purchase of 100 memberships by Autoshare. Typical Toronto-a dollar too little and a day too late. Looks to be another Al La Carte.
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the lemur replying to a comment from ttraveller / April 27, 2011 at 01:56 pm
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Melbourne's bikeshare doesn't appear to cover a much bigger area and has fewer bikes and stations. Did you find it useful, combined with transit or by itself?
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ttraveller replying to a comment from the lemur / April 27, 2011 at 02:20 pm
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No comparison. Toronto is basically Parliament/Bathurst/Bloor/Lake. Melbourne is Punt/Docklands/Royal Park/St. Kilda. What's that? 3 times the geographical coverage? And their annual fee (incl GST) is $50. Ours is $95 plus GST. Nuff said.
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the lemur replying to a comment from ttraveller / April 27, 2011 at 02:59 pm
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The northernmost and southernmost stations on the Melbourne map seem to be farther apart than ours, but pretty comparable east-west, although it looks like routes in Melbourne aren't always as direct as here. I do think Bixi should cover more area to the east and west in Toronto.
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Foolish Me / April 27, 2011 at 03:03 pm
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People! Just be thankful that Rob Ford didn't find a way to cancel this program before launch! Let user demand play out -- after launch, the Mayor of Montreal personally called the BIXI team to halve the rollout timeline and double bike delivery numbers, on his personal authority. Let's concentrate on making this a success rather than pooping all over price, stations and TTC versus Bixi. Torontonians can never be happy about any positive development it seems. Celebrate the fact we will an award-winning BIKE SHARE SYSTEM in place NEXT WEEK!
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ttraveller replying to a comment from the lemur / April 27, 2011 at 05:29 pm
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The Toronto map on the BIXI website is deceptive. I spend most summers in Melbourne and use BIXI. No comparison. On being thankful, this is what many people said when the great Al La Carte was implemented. Far better to set the initial standard high enough so the thing has a fighting chance of succeeding. The Mayor of Montreal understood this.
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the lemur replying to a comment from ttraveller / April 27, 2011 at 08:26 pm
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How is it deceptive? It's not like the size of that section of Toronto is a secret, and the map is scalable.
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Enrico Pallazzo / April 27, 2011 at 09:59 pm
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They just put one in outside my building today. I was planning on hauling my bike out of storage this summer, but a bike locker rental alone in my building: $240 a year. So the BIXI membership is almost a bargain in my case. I snapped a pic of the completed installation with my cell, but it looks like ass so I won't bother posting.
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C / April 27, 2011 at 10:41 pm
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This same work crew installed a BIXI station labelled for "Yonge and Dundonald" on Jarvis in front of Rogers head office.
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Binky / April 29, 2011 at 11:19 am
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I'm a little perplexed by the location of the Kensington Market BIXI station at the south-west corner of Bellevue Square, about as remote a location as possible in the Market and hardly a much frequented area.

What does one do with one of these bikes should all the stalls in a station be full when you choose to return "your" bike? Presumably one is still on the clock for extra charges and would have to waste time waiting for an empty space. I guess it would make sense to rent another bike and turn in bike number one. Seems a bit of a pain.
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Antony / April 29, 2011 at 12:26 pm
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Blinky - unfortunately, Kensington Market sidewalk space is hard to come by, so a less frequented space will have to do.

Of course the City could have given up two parking spots in the huge "Green P" garage just west of Spadina, but that would be <i>socialism</i>.

If you get to a station that's full, my understanding is that you can scan your receipt and get bonus time to go to the next closest station (or wait for someone to take a bike).
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Binky replying to a comment from Antony / April 29, 2011 at 01:02 pm
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How about at Augusta and College? On the south-west side there's an empty public concrete pad measuring something like 5x15 meters. On the south-east side there would be room with the removal of those useless public picnic tables, behind the "Kensington Market" bicycle chain sculpture. What could be more appropriate?

On the south-west corner of Augusta and Oxford there's lots of available public concrete. Also, two doors east of Augusta on the south side of Oxford is Sonya's Park, a lot more central than Bellevue Park.
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