This song has been making the rounds on local CBC radio in the past day. The song itself has been out for a little over a month, but the video for it is new.
I don’t know about their “it’s a free ride” line, though, considering the number of dollar signs I see on this page. In an interview Wednesday with CBC radio’s Jeanette Kelly, two members of the band – called Da Gryptions – say that’s actually a “metaphor” for something. Like, free as in freedom, or like … uhh … something like that.
Still, considering the success of the system, it certainly seems worthy of a song or two.
The band tells CBC they’re planning other Montreal-themed songs, including one about the Expos.
The Bixi Anthem is available on iTunes, in case you want to listen to it more than once.
Bixi is proof montrealers will buy anything that claims to be green and environmentally progressive, even if it’s entirely unnecessary and redundant. There are plenty of private bike rental shops around for cheaper and less hassle, and they even throw in helmets. You can get a bike that is ALL YOURS for cheaper than an annual Bixi subscription. Finally, they are all around the metro stations. Just take the fucking metro.
Your criticisms are valid, but miss the point. It’s cheaper to use your own bike than a Bixi, just like it’s cheaper to use your own car than to use a cab. The selling point of Bixi is convenience. You can pick one up just about anywhere downtown and drop it off just about anywhere. No need to worry about maintaining it, locking it up, finding a place to store it.
And even if you don’t buy that, the popularity of the system – particularly in its second year – speaks for itself.
Yeah, but what is it saying? It’s saying ‘I’m popular!‘, not ‘I make total sense‘. (Certainly not ‘I’m cool‘.)
Bixi-riders are more likely to be inexperienced (i.e. a total nuisance &/or danger on the road) and I tend to involuntarily mock them, but it’s possible that the program might subtly shift attitudes in a bike-friendly direction at City Hall. So maybe it’ll pay for itself in that way.
wkh wrote: There are plenty of private bike rental shops around for cheaper and less hassle, and they even throw in helmets. You can get a bike that is ALL YOURS for cheaper than an annual Bixi subscription. Finally, they are all around the metro stations. Just take the fucking metro.
Less hassle than Bixi? There’s a Bixi station 50m from my front doorstep and a gigantic one directly outside my workplace. And I for one do have my own junkola bike already, but guess what: some days I’m tired after work and don’t feel like a 1-hr uphill commute. Other days it’s raining. The luxury of one-way trips is a fabulous thing, one which can only be fully appreciated after trying it a few times.
Not to mention, it’s also extremely reassuring to know that qualified people are looking after the bikes – I’ve had so many flat tires in my pre-Bixi days it’s not even funny. But thus far never a problem on a Bix – at least, not one that couldn’t be solved by checking in the bike, pushing the ‘Damaged’ button, and hopping on another one. Another amazing luxury if you ask me.
As for there being Bixi racks right outside metro stations – you do realize some people need a way to actually get *to* and *from* the station, right? It’s an especially nice option if you’re in-between buses and don’t feel like waiting. (Another borderline-magical thing you can’t do with “your own bike.”)
One last thing, then I shut up: I love the metro almost as much as Bixi, but I don’t think sitting on one’s ass getting dragged under the city burns quite as many calories as pedaling up the fucking mountain (especially with all those escalators.) Since we all kick in for each other’s healthcare around here, I don’t have ANY problem with options like this that encourage spontaneous physical activity. (Provided no one falls off the damn things…but then again, any accidents would be paid by the SAAQ, right?) ;-)
Fagstien, thanks for posting our video.
I personally love the bixi because I have had 3 bikes stolen in the last 3 years, including a $400 jobby that I loved.
So spending $78 on a yearly pass, and knowing that I will not have to worry about it is amazing.
Not sure I want to listen to that vid more than once, but I think the sentiment of “freedom” with the BIXI is certainly one that I appreciate. I think people have a hard time with the concept though. There are still avid cyclists here who don’t quite grasp the reason why it’s neither better nor worse than owning your own bike. It’s just different. It happens to be affordable. Liberating.
I heard a woman exclaim–after she nearly caused three cyclists to crash as she suddenly and blindly stepped into the bike lane at Rachel & St laurent during the noon rush–“There’s too many bikes in this fucking city!”
I couldn’t have felt more proud to live in one of the most bike and pedestrian friendly cities in North America.
I have taken the metro a maximum of 10 times in the last 12 months, while I have used the BIXI system for 278 trips to date. I am not a student, so I’m not privy to the reduced metro/bus fare. That’d be $764.50 if I had bought individual tickets. A month pass for the STM costs $70. That would be $840 for the year. I’m still using my first year’s subscription til the end of the month, because they gave bonus time for early adopters, and I paid a whopping $90 ($78 subscription + a few overtime fees).
I’m in better shape, I saved helluva lot of time compared to walking/transit, and I also find it really fun. The system works well, is relatively theft/asshole proof, the bikes are durable (with normal use), and it alleviates load from the bus/metro system while getting some people to cycle instead of drive. When it gets rolled out to other NA cities, subscribers might gain open access to the system there too. Win, win, and more win. And it comes from the municipal division responsible for parking? Wonders never cease.