Montreal bicycle rental company sets new records during public transit strike

By Canadian Press on June 18, 2025.

MONTREAL — Montreal’s main bicycle rental company says it smashed past its all-time record during the recent public transit strike.

BIXI Montreal says its bicycles made more than 80,000 trips a day during seven of the nine strike days, including more than 98,500 on June 11.

The strike by 2,400 transit maintenance workers reduced bus and metro service between June 9 and June 17, with full service on the weekend.

BIXI spokesman Pierre-Luc Marier says the company’s bicycles made about 10,000 trips per hour during rush hour on the busiest days, with about three bicycles rented each second.

He says the company brought in extra docking stations and staff to help ensure renters found a steady supply of bicycles to rent and places to park them.

He’s optimistic that many of the people who tried the service for the first time during the strike will embrace cycling and BIXI on a longer-term basis.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press