Stationnement de Montréal is going to spend $15 million to setup a bike rental system downtown similar to the one launched in Paris in July. Except they’ll spend 1/10th the money to have fewer bikes at fewer stations. And they’ll charge 10 times as much. (See correction below)
Whereas in Paris the bikes cost the equivalent of $1.50 a day (plus a $150 refundable deposit), The Gazette reports the Montreal system would cost “as little as $1 per half-hour”.
Perhaps difference in price is meaningless for most people. If it’s necessary to get the system running then I’m all for it.
Then again, as Kate reminds me, there doesn’t appear to be any insurance against bike theft. So if someone makes off with it while you’re doing your shopping, you’re on the hook for that deposit. Enough theft of these easily-identifiable bikes might drive people away.
CORRECTION: I goofed. The Paris system is 1 Euro a day plus the rental fee, at a rate which increases the longer you use it (which to me doesn’t make any sense — it would just encourage people to return a bike and take another one).
I’ve been meaning to post my sister’s comment on the bike idea. She lives in the Netherlands, and she says what they do there is paint their rental bikes bright ugly colours to make them distinctive and less attractive to thieves. She also says they’re insured. I’ll ask her what the pricing’s like for comparison.
She says 6 euro a day and the Netherlands has different sizes because some Dutch folks are very tall.