With some help from studded tires and snow-clearing, Montreal's bike-share service is going year-round

Montreal's Bixi season is kicking off for a 15th year, but this one will be different — the city has announced the bike-sharing service will be available all year long, including in the winter.

The year-round availability of the service is part of a pilot project that will cover territory spanning 100 square kilometres across seven boroughs.

"We know that in the month of November, when the Bixis leave, there are still plenty of nice weather days to bike and people are disappointed," said Sophie Mauzerolle, the executive committee member responsible for transportation and mobility.

Alexandre Taillefer, who chairs the board of Bixi Montreal, said about 150 of the city's 850 bike-sharing stations will be included in the pilot project. 

He said Bixi will make sure to clear snow from the stations when needed.

"We will manage issues related to snow but we have to remember that it only snows [heavily] about 10 days per year," Taillefer said.

The pilot project will only include traditional bikes, not electric ones. The bikes will be equipped with studded tires to deal with slippery conditions. The stations that will be part of the project will be located near Metro stations and close to the city's large bike path network called the Réseau express vélo (REV).

"We're going to use winter tires which will have a better adherence," Taillefer said, and the pedals will also be different. "It's important you don't slip when you use a Bixi during winter."

Bixi is projecting an average of about 4,000 daily users during the winter.

"That's not nothing," said Taillefer, adding that the number would be about 10 per cent of a total on a typical day during the regular Bixi season. 

"And that's with a lot fewer bikes and a lot fewer stations. So we think that it will stir up a lot of enthusiasm."

However, the head of a provincial cycling advocacy group, Vélo Québec, said Montreal has not been meeting the growing demand for clear, usable bike paths in the winter.

Cycling in the winter is increasingly popular, Jean-François Rheault said, and Montreal could do more to improve access.

"The responsibility of snow clearing is with the boroughs," said Rheault. "So you have 19 different ways of doing things."

Having only one common way of clearing bike paths would bring more consistency and quality to the winter cycling experience, he said. 

Mauzerolle said the city is working closely with the boroughs, sharing machinery and tactics to improve how paths are being cleared.

The city also announced it is adding 36 more BIXI stations this season.

Mauzerolle, who is also a city councillor in the Ville-Marie borough, said the 36 new stations will serve central neighbourhoods as well as increase Bixi's presence in areas other than the downtown core.

Since Bixi began operating in Montreal in 2009, users have travelled more than 237 million kilometres, according to Taillefer.

One of those users is Jennifer Maklary, who said she is looking forward to hopping on a Bixi bike this season and she will hop on in the winter as well.

"It's a really good idea," she said. "I bike year-round and I'd really like to be able to use the Bixi in the winter.  I wouldn't need to use the Metro as much."