Capital Bixi was a public

bicycle sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bo ...

serving

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Launched in June 2009, it was the second BIXI system worldwide after

BIXI Montréal Bixi (sometimes stylized as BIXI) is a public bicycle sharing system serving the metropolitan area of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Launched in May 2009 by Public Bike System Company (PBSC), it is North America's first large-scale bike sharing syste ...

. Capital Bixi was run by the National Capital Commission, which sold the bike share program to CycleHop.

History

From June to September 2009, the system was introduced in a pilot study with 100 bicycles at 10 stations. In 2012 Capital Bixi and its sponsors the National Capital Commission (NCC), the

City of Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatinea ...

, the City of Gatineau, the

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Environment Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; )Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment (). is the Ministry (government department), department ...

, and Telus, expanded the bike share system, covered more ground, and offered 15 new stations and 150 new bikes, for a total of 25 stations and 250 bikes. In January 2014, the parent company of BIXI, Public Bike System Company, filed for bankruptcy protection, however, the NCC anticipated that the bike share service would return that year nonetheless. In April 2014, the NCC announced that CycleHop would take over the bike share system in the city.

Cost

There were several different payment options with Capital Bixi. Customers could either become members or pay per use.

The bikes

The bicycles are utility bicycles with a unisex step-through frame. The one-piece aluminum frame and handlebars conceal cables in an effort to protect them from vandalism and inclement weather. The heavy-duty

tires A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over w ...

are designed to be puncture-resistant and are filled with nitrogen to maintain proper inflation pressure longer. Twin LED rear lights are integrated into the frame, and the robust frame weighs approximately 18 kg. The bikes are designed by

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

er Michel Dallaire and built in the

Saguenay, Quebec Saguenay ( , , ) is a city in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about north of Quebec City by overland route. It is about upriver and northwest of Tadoussac, located at the confluence with the St. ...

region by Cycles Devinci, with aluminum provided by Rio Tinto Alcan.

References

{{Bixi Community bicycle programs Transport in Gatineau Transport in Ottawa Bicycle sharing in Canada