Bixi expands beyond Montreal, adding 4 new cities this spring

More Quebecers will be able to ride Bixis this year, with the non-profit adding four more cities to its bike-sharing network.

Bixi stations will gradually sprout up in suburban communities around the Island of Montreal including in Saint-Eustache, Deux-Montagnes, and Saint-Lambert, as well as in Sherbrooke in the Eastern Townships. 

The organization is also beefing up service in Laval with 49 new stations, bringing the total number of stations there to 75. The city of Longueuil will see 22 new stations this spring.

The entire network will be fully operational beginning on April 15, according to a press release sent out by Bixi Montréal.

Jean-François Rheault, CEO of Vélo-Québec, says he's pleased to see Bixi is growing in the suburbs where people can combine the service with public transportation.

He says the new locations seem to have the infrastructure to support the bike-sharing service.

"Of course, Bixi is not the only ingredient to allow people to use cycling as a mode of transportation. You need to develop a network of safe and efficient cycling infrastructure," he said.

"More and more cities are developing safe networks."

In total, the number of bikes in the Bixi network this year will grow to 12,600 with about a quarter of those electric bikes.

Rheault says the ability to expand Bixi's year-round service remains a challenge, with some riders wishing they had closer access to the winterized bikes.

"I think in the future more and more people are interested to use the Bixi system in the winter and today the limitation is the availability of bikes or the availability of stations in the different neighbourhoods," he said. 

People can suggest locations for new Bixi stations on their website, whether it's a specific neighbourhood or city.

WATCH | Here's what it's like to ride a Bixi in the winter: 

We tried out Montreal's winter Bixis. How did it go? It's complicated

1 year ago

Duration 2:46

CBC reporter Matt D'Amours took it upon himself to put the winter bikes available from Montreal's bike-sharing service to the test during the season's first snowstorm. 

The non-profit has also noted the growing popularity of its year-round service since it launched in the winter 2023.

It surveyed 5,924 riders and found they travelled 27 per cent more between Nov. 16, 2024, and March 20, 2025, compared to the same period last year.

The survey also revealed the number of winter riders nearly doubled this past season, going from 35 per cent to 61 per cent of respondents. Last year, 3,412 people answered the survey.