>>2011253Because Montreal is the epitome of "people just want to get to work". In the 60's/70's people only used cars because that was the only real way of getting around. Nowadays, the roads are all fucked and traffic is insane (because of construction and population growth that didn't have adequate infrastructure build up to compensate). When I went to uni, from where I live to school it took me 40 minutes at peak traffic hours, that same distance covered by bike took 9 minutes. If you're going 10km or less, you're better off by bike. If your work and home are within walking distance of a metro station, you're usually good. But the system is starting to show age and breaks down constantly. And you gotta deal with being squished next to blacks and browns at busy hours too. Not to mention all the homeless shooting up down there. If you're dirt, dirt poor, the public transit system is very affordable and great. If you're not, it's not desirable. In comes Bixi. You can bike anywhere you need and drop it off at a lock-up. Many people live in tiny ass places and have no room for a bike, and many less have the tools and the intelligence to fix them. So they either have to use LBSs or just be permanently broken down. It's not ideal. So with Bixi, you don't think, you just pedal. They have E-bikes on rent too. And there even is Bixi in the winter, with studded tyres.
Also, all other places have their public bike rentals based on Bixi, we were the first. They rebrand them, but when you see those bikes in Germany, they're really Box's with a fresh coat of paint.
So in short, driving sucks because of traffic, fucked roads, and parking.
Public transit is a cesspool.
Leaves biking, very time efficient and a much more enjoyable experience to get from A to B.
I drive to work, because I work 70km away, off-island. But if I worked near where I live, I'd definitely don't by bike.
