INTRODUCTION

On September 21, 2008, a new self service, rental public bike system was introduced in Montréal,
Canada, by the city's parking authority, The Société en commandite Stationnement de Montréal
(Stationnement de Montréal), a public body, for improving the transportation system in the city. The
new bike system was inspired by similar concepts operating in various European countries,
particularly the Vélib' program in Paris. As part of the test launch, only 40 bikes were introduced in
four separate places in the city. "It's not for long trips. You ride it and you return it, and [for] the
first half hour there's no charge," said Gérald Tremblay, Mayor, Montréal, describing the
functioning of the system in brief. The project, the first such in Montréal, was part of Stationnement
de Montréal's initiatives to improve the overall transport system and encourage more people to use
public transport.

In October 2007, the city of Montreal put forth its transportation plan called 'Reinventing Montreal,
which was an attempt to develop public transit and improve the overall mobility in the fulfilling the
overall city. The development of the BIXI public bike system (Bixi) was an effort at vision of the
transportation plan

Experts felt that the Bixi bike sharing program was designed with the perfect blend of technicality.
practicality, and aesthetic appeal. The system consisted of technical platforms, bike docks, bikes, y
stations, and backroom software. Being made from recyclable aluminum, the bikes were light and
environment friendly. The entire system was solar powered and needed no permanent bolting So the
dock stations could be removed and moved from one place to another, if the need arose thether than
thing feed. The bikes had RFID tags that helped it was Radio Frency Anication (RFID)" enable used
them. The passcards issued helped them to be easily reached Identified with the user whock the
bikes at the bike docks ad to menthers also had RFIDcked and steped the members foser details for
the bike that was pickend an RFID interrogator de ces that deck station recorded user was

The entire program was modeledno be pelte spining, primarily through user fees and membership
and through somodels adopted by many of the existing public by different from the membership
revenues-based by of the bike systems around the world sing operation of the system included
installation and repair of the various physical and The components of the system, from initial start
up.

Most analysts appreciated the design and operating model of the Bixi Public Bike System. They
further said that if Bixi became a success, it would be one of the first self sustaining public bike
systems in the world. They pointed out some limitations of the system as well. While the system
looked better prepared to face the biggest challenge of such bike systems - theft and vandalism
whether it would actually be able to control such abuses was yet to be ascertained.

After a successful test launch in September 2008, Stationnement de Montréal was preparing for the
full-fledged launch of the system in May 2009. In the first phase, it planned to launch 3,000 bikes at
300 pay stations around the city. With the Bixi system drawing a lot of attention from the transport
departments of other cities that wanted to set up similar system, Stationnement de Montréal was
actively considering commercializing the project by offering it, in whole or in part, to other cities.
According to Allain Ayotte (Ayotte), executive vice-president. Stationnement de Montréal, "Several
cities are requesting information about our system and we hope we'll be able to sell this in Toronto,
Vancouver, and in the U.S. I mean why not, we sell aircraft, we sell subway [systems], why not
bicycles?"

ABOUT PUBLIC BIKE SYSTEM

The public bike sharing system was common in the European countries, more so among the north
European countries. Under the system, citizens were provided with innovative schemes of using
rental or free bicycles, generally in inner urban areas. These bicycles were made easily available at
different locations, at a nominal charge (sometimes free as well), so that a person could pick up a
cycle it one location and leave it at his/her destination. Unlike leisure-oriented rental services, the
public bicycle system gave fast service. Also, the bikes were serviced and maintained from time to
time. Experts felt that the concept of public biking was fast catching on because more and more
cities were looking for alternative means of transport to reduce motorized traffic, as well as to help
the environment by reducing the pollution caused by these motorized vehicles. The concept had
become quite popular in France and Spain.

Though the concept of public sharing of bikes was born in the 1960s, it gained popularity and

defined usage in the 1990s and early 2000s. The earliest bike sharing programs, referred to as the
first generation systems, relied more on the honesty of the users and the promoters. However, the
problem of theft became common and people failed to find a bike when they needed one. This led
to the development of the second generation bikes which were custom made (parts incompatible
with other bikes), had a distinctive appearance, and had locking systems to deal with the problem of
theft. Slowly, the third generation bike system evolved that took into consideration the problems
faced by the previous generations and developed bikes that in addition to having distinctive looks,
had an automated mechanism for locking and releasing the bikes. The entire operation was
regulated and monitored automatically, 10

For most of the public bike systems, the revenue sharing models included one of five: municipality
funds, self funded, advertising contract-based, flat fee structure, or private-public partnership.

One of the first instances of an organized public bike system was the White Bikes Program that
began in 1995 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The White Bikes Program began with about 1,100
specially designed, durable bikes. Initially, the organisers thought about financing the program by
selling advertising space on the bikes. However, when the idea didn't work out, the municapilty was
given the responsibility for carrying out the program. The municipality started a depository method
to ensure the bikes were prudently handled by the people. The commuter had to insert a coin
(around US$3) into a specially designed rack, after which the bicycle was released. On putting the
bicycle back into any rack, the coin would be given back. The municipality also imposed a fine (of
over US$150), if a bike was not returned or if it was taken away from the bike sharing zone by any
cyclist. This program was quite effective at that time.

In the early 2000s, the cities of Lyon and Paris in France and Barcelona and Sevilla in Spain
attracted a lot of attention for their fully functional, automated, and effective public bike systems
(Refer to Exhibit I for some of the successful public bike systems around the world). For instance in
Lyon, the public bike system was implemented fully by 2005 with 2,000 bicycles and about 175
racks being rolled out across the city. By April 2008, the numbers had grown to 4,000 bicycles and
340 racks. The system was used by about 100,000 people. Between 2005 and 2008, the city also
experienced around an 80% increase in the public as well as private usage of bicycles."

It was found that very often, the commuters combined their travel by bike with some other public
tranpotation medium like a bus or train, to complete their journey. It was thus seen that popularising
the bike system was also leading to the use of other means of public transport (Refer to Box I for
benefits of the public bike systems). In the 2000s, new innovations like high tech technology check-
outs, GPS, RFID tracking systems, smart card, etc. were incorporated, and this further increased the
efficiency of the bike systems. Following the examples set by cities such as Lyon, Paris, and
Barcelona, more countries looked to replicate the model in their respective cities and promote urban
cycling as a healthy alternative to motorized travelling.

As of 2008, there were about 100 bike sharing programs operational in different parts of the world.
Analysts believed that the bike sharing system would continue to grow in the future due to
increased awareness among the people on the need to protect the environment, increase use of the
public transport system, and reduce traffic congestion, among other things.

GETTING STARTED

Stationnement de Montréal was started in 1995 to handle the city's paid on-street and off-street
parking and to develop suitable operational solutions to improve the means of urban travel. It
operated as a subsidiary of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal. Since its inception, this
public sector unit had earned a name for itself as an innovative unit. For instance, the "Pay and Go"
parking system developed by it received the International Parking Institute's 'Award of Merit' in the
"Innovation in a parking operation category in 2007. Stationnement de Montréal was a revenue
generator for the city and by early 2009, it had remitted more than C$192.2 million to the city.le

In October 2007, Ville de Montréal announced a transformation plan called 'Reinvent Montréal
under which it planned several initiatives to improve the transportation system in the city. The
objective of the plan was to address the mobility needs of Montréal and contribute to the economic
development of the city (Refer to Exhibit II for a note on Reinventing Montréal-2007). As part of
the plan, the city sought to develop a public bike system. One of the prime reasons for needing a
bike system was the government's concern to reduce the number of cars and other motorized
vehicles in the city, which were adding to the ever increasing traffic in the urban areas. The
provincial government, however, was apprehensive as it viewed this step as a political strategy
designed to squeeze more money out of its coffers."

Stationnement de Montréal approached Ville de Montréal announcing its intention to develop the
public bike system. "We went to the city and said, "You want a bike sharing program, we can
provide you with one, and it will be cost-neutral, recalled Ayotte. According to him, Stationnement
de Montreal was given the go ahead with certain caveats "the city will not fund the project, system
must break even, and sharing system must be easy to operate and easy to use. Thus, Stationnement
de Montréal invested the start-up capital in sustaining public bike system. 20 a bid to launch a self

In November 2007. Stationnement de Montréal started scouting around for partners to design the
bike and the bike system. At the same time, it also initiated a market study and station location
study. It acquired the services of renowned industrial designer Michel Dallaire, Cycles De Vinci,"
and 8D Technologies Inc. (8D Technologies) to come up with an innovative bike system. Before
coming up with the design, the team researched all the popular public bike systems that were in
existence to identify the good points of each and also improve upon problem areas. It then decided
to build a system of its own from scratch with the following objectives:

The system should be easy to use and install

All components of the system should be designed to work together

The system should be environmentally-friendly with the minimum possible carbon footprint

The system should enhance the urban landscape rather than being a burden on it.
• It should be cost-effective.

While the system was being designed, Stationnement de Montréal also worked on the marketing
communication plan to promote it. When the design of the system was finally launched in June
2008, a "Find my name" contest was also announced to arrive at a name for the public bike system.
The contest reportedly attracted 8,800 submissions, out of which the team identified the top five:
Bixi, Bicyk, MontVelo, Vel02, Villavelo. A voting was done and the name Bixi, proposed by a
citizen Michel Gourdeau (Gourdeau), was finalized. The name was derived from a combination of
two words 'bicycle' and 'taxi'. The name was announced in September 2008 and Gourdeau won a
lifetime membership for Bixi, as the grand award (Refer to Exhibit III for a timeline of the Montréal
public bike system). According to Stationnement de Montréal, to design and implement a system
such as this was very complex and challenging, but the team was able to do this despite the tight
deadlines set by the city authorities,

BIXIA BLEND OF PRACTICALITY AND AESTHETICS

Around mid-2008, Stationnement de Montréal announced that the automated, self-sustaining, solar
powered bike system that it had developed would be launched in a few months. The entire package
consisted of an integrated system of the bike, the technical platform, the pay station, the bike dock
station, and the backroom software (Refer to Exhibit IV for photos of the various components of
Bixi

The bike was designed by Michel Dallaire. It weighed 20 kilograms, had a high grade aluminum
frame, and was equipped with three gears which led to heavy duty, greater safety, and low
maintenance of the bikes. The distinct design also comprised cables and chains enclosed within an
integrated chain ring cover which prevented the cyclist's clothing from getting entangled. For
safety, it had dynamo-powered lights (at the front and at the rear) that worked all the time. There
was a solid front basket, welded to the bicycle's frame. The basket had a tough cord that helped in
carrying bulky items. The adjustable seat tube had a numbered scale through which the riders could
get to know which seat height suited them best, so that they could adjust the height accordingly the
next time they used the bike. The bikes also had a low center of gravity, so that balance was easy to
maintain, and the bikes were easy to handle. In addition to these, the bikes had nitrogen filled tires
as nitrogen took a longer time to leak out than air and so tire refills were less frequent. Overall, the
bikes were sturdy and had a sleek design.

According to some reports, the bikes were designed for riding between 75,000 to 100,000
kilometers in their lifetime, on the city's roads and hills, 25 They were manufactured by Cycles
DeVinci. Being made of aluminum, the frames of the bikes were light as well as strong and durable.
Moreover, since aluminum was entirely recyclable with only five percent electricity requirement for
producing new metal, the bikes would not end up as junk after being discarded.26

The technical platform acted as the base for the bikes, bike docks, and pay stations. These platforms
were placed on a flat surface and plugged together. These solar powered platforms were modular,
could be dismantled, and transported anywhere as well as installed easily without any preparatory
work. In this way, a lot of expenses on infrastructure work could be done away with. It was very
necessary, especially in the winter when the dock station had to be removed because of heavy snow.
Usually, about four bike docks could be placed in each platform.

The bike dock, placed on the platform, for parking the bikes was equally innovative. There was a
front end protector that acted as an anti-theft mechanism. The interface was simple besides being
convenient to use. The station had about seven to ten slots for the same number of bikes, and the
bikes got locked as soon as they were shoved in. The station was solar powered and did not require
external energy sources. A single station of any size could be installed in a matter of a few hours.
The system also allowed the users to alert it on finding a damaged or defective bike through the
interface at the bike dock.

A "Pay and Go" pay station was placed in one of the technical platforms (usually two or more
technical platforms were plugged together). The design aided in easy access even for people with
limited mobility. Taking into consideration the climatic conditions of Montréal, they were strong
enough to bear the harsh winters that the city experienced. The pay stations accepted payment for
bike rentals and also for parking space rental for other vehicles parked nearby. They had touch
screens and also an in-build printer. They accepted payment via a credit card, bike pass, as well as
through Canadian cash (for parking only). On the payment being accepted, the pay station printed
out a ticket as proof of payment. The ticket also indicated the time of expiry of the ticket. One
advantage of the pay system was that the user could pay in any pay station in the sector where he
parked and need not return to the vehicle to show the ticket. Like the dock station, these were also
solar powered. However in low sunlight areas, the stations could also be connected to an electrical
grid.

Since Stationnement de Montréal developed and managed Bixi, it reused its award-winning parking
meter technology that had earlier been deployed for the city in 2004, for Bixi as well. The entire
system was based on RFID and was designed and developed by 8D Technology (Refer to Exhibit V
for different uses of RFID). Each bike had an ingrained RFID tag in it, which helped the central
server keep track of the bike.

The Bixi system had seven design patents pending with the authorities four patents for bicycle
innovations and one each for the modular system, the solar-powered operating system, and the
locking mechanisms. According to Ayotte, its design and technology platform allowed the station to
be installed in around 20 minutes, and the system could start running within one hour. While
promoters of public bike systems usually found negotiations with private property owners regarding
placement of stations on their properties challenging. Ayotte claimed that Stationnement de
Montréal had been approached by private developers who wanted Bixi stations to be located on
their properties.

THE OPERATING MODEL FOR BIXI

The main activities under operation were station installation, system start up and maintenance of
station, and bike and software maintenance. Station maintenance included looking after the working
of the bike docks, pay stations, technical platforms, and solar power system. The bikes also needed
daily maintenance, including minor repairs performed on site. At times, major repairs were required
to de done at workshops (Refer to Box II for major activities under Bixi operations).

THE BIKE USAGE MODEL

The location of the dock station was fixed on the basis of population density, the presence of busy
places like universities, metro stations etc., as well as on patterns of movement of population in the
city.

A user could locate the closest hike statio time. Bites website and even know the tumher of bikes
available at the dock station king prepaid pay He/She could also create an online acc of bikes
repeated use and use it for making prepaid as idens to the city office for the issue of an RFID for
reneedded pass card, which carried a unique identification (ID) number that was linked to the
account of the user stored in the central server.

There was an RFID interrogator device at each dock in the bike station. When the user waved the
pass card before it, the card reader was awakened. The reader then captured the ID number, whith
was sent to the server. If the server approved the number, it sent messages to the dock to unlock the
bike. The RFID tag on the bike then sent alerts to a second interrogator at the dock to register that
the bike was being taken out. The server then linked details of the bike with the user ID number. If
in any case the bike was not returned or the user exceeded the time for which he/she had paid, the
user could easily be traced. In case of over-use, i.e., exceeding the scheduled time, the extra bill
could be sent to the user's address as well.

There was also an alternate method of using the bikes. The users, at the time of taking out a bike on
rent, could pay casually using a credit card at the station itself. After the payment was accepted, the
terminal generated a three-digit number on a paper. The user was required to enter this number on a
keypad at the bike dock after which the system unlocked the bike. Again as the bike was taken out,
the reader was awakened, and it linked the bike details with the details of the user (the three-digit
number generated by the system).

After using the bike, the user could return it to any convenient dock station. At this time, the reader
was again awakened, and it sent the bike RFID tag details to the server to indicate that the bike had
been returned and also registered the new location at which it had been returned.

The Bixi bikes were designed to address operational problems like thefts and manhandling to a
great extent. For instance, the parts of the bike could not be opened or removed using any standard
tools available in the market. In addition, the parts were so designed that none of them could be
interchanged with those of other bikes, even if somebody did manage to steal any component. Also,
delicate parts of the bike like cables, derailleurs, and brake systems were all hidden by a cover for
further protection. Analysts said that although it could not be said that the bikes were completely
safe from the risks of public vandalism, the features certainly helped to deter bike component or
bike theft.

Through the public bike system, Stationnement de Montréal's intention was to encourage people to
use public transport more and to avoid using their personal motorized vehicles, which led to heavy
traffic jams in the city and also increased environment pollution. The idea was to let people use
bikes for shorter distances like the distance between the transit stations and their office. "You take
your car and then you park before you get in the city, then take the train and from the train you
could grab a bike and then go to your office... and do the same thing on your way back," said
Isabelle Bettez, President and CEO, 8D Technologies.

To provide good customer service, Stationnement de Montréal also looked at areas such as call
center management, subscriber management, automated call routing, and information management
via their website.

The system was to be operational for seven months a year, between mid-April and mid-November.
The rest of time, when the winter made it almost impossible to run a system like this, the stations
would be removed and stored.

TAKING CARE OF THE OPERATING COSTS

Stationnement de Montréal wanted the Bixi program to be self sustaining, without having to depend
on funding sources like advertising or raising money from the public. It wanted to take care of the
operating costs through membership and user fees. In October 2008, Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. (Rio
Tinto) came forward to become the official title sponsor for Bixi. The company took the
responsibility for the supply of aluminum for manufacturing the bikes and also additional funding
for the project. "It's a great way to get people out of their cars and fits very well with the Rio Tinto
Group's commitment to sustainability. We are happy to be part of this innovative service that will
contribute to making Montréal an even better place to live and work," said Tom Albanese, Chief
Executive Officer, Rio Tinto. Thus, the user fees and a small level of corporate sponsorship would
help bear the operating costs. 32

From its initial study of various public bike systems, Stationnement de Montréal understood that to
achieve success, the system must achieve critical mass from an early stage. According to Ayotte, it
was very important to create strength in numbers as this would not only contribute to the
sustainability of the system but also awaken municipalities to the need for bicycle infrastructure
that was required for the smooth running of the system.

Its business model relied on an additional 20% revenue by offering the service to tourists as well.
According to some estimate, Montréal attracted 14 million annual visitors (including 7.8 million
tourists). According to Ayotte, it would target tourist user groups visiting the boroughs of Rosemont
- La Petite Petrie, Plateau Mont Royal and Ville - Marie

The revenue structure was planned in such a way that users could choose a pass according to the
frequency of their travel. The passes were available in various denominations. With a seasonal pass,
available at CS 78" for a one-year subscription, starting mid-April 2009, one could ride the bikes
free for the first half an hour. There was also a monthly pass for C$ 28 as well as a 24-hour pass for
CS 5. However, the parking authority wanted to discourage lengthy excursions and for this, it raised
the rates charged for usage after every half hour. The first half being free, the second half hour was
charged C$ 1.50. This was increased by C$ 3 in the third half hour and further raised by CS 6 in the
fourth half hour (Refer to Table I to see how user fees vary with length of usage). Some analysts
opined that this kind of charging system was used because the authority feared that the bikes might
be taken out of the frequency zone or that their RFID tags might be tampered with, making it
difficult for the bikes to be traced. But they also felt that as the users were more likely to use it for
half an hour to reach subways from taxi stands, or from the subways to the office areas, it would be
cheaper for most people.

The total expenditure to design, build, and implement the Bixi system cost Stationnement de
Montréal about C$15 million, a major part of which it intended to recover through revenues earned
from the users, According to some analysts, each bike would cost about C$ 1500 per year for
maintenance and administration. Stationnement de Montréal expected to run a deficit in the first
year of operations and break even in the second year itself. According to Ayotte. between 12 and 15
members per bike were needed to finance a breakeven system.

TEST LAUNCH

The Bixi system was test launched on September 21, 2008. Stationnement de Montréal deployed 40
bikes at the four places where they were launched, available for free demonstration for the next six
weeks. A 'SWAT team was formed for this purpose. The team was placed around the streets and
informed people about Bixi and noted their responses. "We want to make sure the citizens can
provide their input before we go into final production, explained Ayotte.
The marketing partner for Bixi was Morrow Communications. Users who bought memberships
before the launch got first two months of membership free of cost.

The next target before Stationnement de Montréal was a full-fledged launch of about 3,000 bikes
with around 300 stations in the three boroughs of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, le Plateau Mont-
Royal, and Ville-Marie as well as the areas of Outremont and the Sud-Ouest in May 2009.
According to the group, the stations would be located at prominent spaces separated by 300 meters
on an average.

INITIAL REACTIONS

Analysts opined that if things worked out according to the plan laid by Stationnement de Montréal,
then Bixi would function smoothly and emerge as one of the first self sustainable and efficient bike
systems. However, they also said that that it was too early to be fully confident of its success as that
could be predicted only after a full-fledged launch

The design as well as the operating model earned kudos from experts. Bixi received overwhelming
responses for the design as well as for the practicality of the project. Both the media and the general
public, including the residents of Montréal, appreciated the system. Experts felt that the use of solar
power and RFID wireless communication in the system would also help decrease emissions and the
use of unclean sources of energy, and eliminate undesirable environmental effects resulting from
excavations and manufacture of communication cables. Experts also felt that the Bixi system was
most flexible as its modular nature allowed it to be dismantled and stored during winter months.

The system also received some international acclaim even before its scheduled official launch in
May 2009. In November 2008, Bixi was featured in the list of TIME Magazine's top 50 best
inventions of 2008. The innovative concept received the 19th position in the list. (Refer to Exhibit
VI for the list of Time's Top 20 Innovations). The following month. Dallaire was awarded the Eco-
Design award from Intérieurs Ferdie, in the Product design/Sustainable development category, for
incorporating eco-friendly elements in the design of Bixi. In April 2009, Bixi was honored with the
gold award at the Edison Best New Products Awards in the category of Energy and Sustainability.

Experts felt that its plan to target tourist user groups was a good one as some recent research data
had suggested that while commuting and utilitarian trips also accounted for a significant percentage
of trips, leisure and recreational trips were a key market for potential expansion of such bike
programs.

However, analysts also pointed out some drawbacks of the system. For instance, the bike system
was only operational for seven months in the year. For the rest of the months, the problem of traffic
and pollution would crop up again, they said. Moreover, analysts also said that the bike system was
applicable only to single people, and was not a solution for a family going out together or for older
people, who would find it risky and tiring. They also felt that biking to shop at a neighborhood
supermarket might not be a very good option because the carrier basket of the bike did not seem
convenient to carry a high volume of purchase.

According to some analysts, the immediate challenges for Bixi were for the bikes to be made easily
available at all the busy transits in the city and for it to offer easy payment transactions and
customer service in case of the user reporting some difficulty in the operation of the system. The
system also had to ensure that there were enough empty docks available for the people to put back
the bikes. Some analysts said that most public bicycle programs failed because no sooner were they
launched than they became subject to vandalism like smashing, theft, etc. For instance, it was
widely reported that the Vélib' system in Paris, which was hailed as a very innovative bike system,
had suffered heavily at the hands of the users and vandals. Out of the total fleet of 20,000 bicycles,
7,800 had disappeared and 11,600 had been vandalized-raising serious questions about the
sustainability of the project. In such a scenario, the Bixi bike system had to be extra alert to combat
such negative acts, they said.

but the design we have chosen will address the issue of security to a great extent. We can't do too
much about vandalism, but we are optimistic Montrealers will think of this as their property and
respect it.

Many analysts were, however, confident that the bike system would be successful in Montréal as
the city had a culture of biking. According to Paulette Blais (Blais), a member of the Toronto
Cycling Advisory Committee (TCAC)", "Montréal has an incredibly high rate of bike usage. You
can easily be on a bike path with 10 or 12 bikes at any time of the day or night. People (in
Montréal) just use bikes so much. She added that Montréal had an infrastructure that supported bike
sharing, and cited the example of distinct bike paths that ran separate from the car traffic path.

LOOKING AHEAD

In the words of Ayotte, the Bixi program was "not a mercantile project it's a social project,s
However, as it attracted the attention of more people and earned favorable reviews, Stationnement
de Montréal received several requests from cities like New York and other cities in North America
and Europe, who wanted to set up similar projects and wanted to borrow the technical expertise
from Stationnement de Montréal. With this, Stationnement de Montréal was also actively
considering offering its bike system in whole or in part to other cities. According to Ayotte,
Stationnement de Montréal had developed a system that would work in any other city. In November
2008, the group was in the process of manufacturing an extra 5,000 bikes for sale to other cities.
"I'd like to see a Canadian system like the train in the 19th century... [We'd have] a public bike
system across the country: a user from Vancouver could use a bike in Edmonton, in Montréal,
wherever you're a member of a national system. That would be great. "5" Experts too agreed that
the system could be profitably exported in part or in whole to other cities. If other cities too
implemented this system, the research and development costs associated with the project could be
shared.

By late 2008, Stationnement de Montréal already had one such project in hand. In August 2008, the
City of Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Department in the US,
invited business proposals from various organizations in order to purchase equipment and services
needed to develop a non-profit Public Bike System in Minneapolis. Stationnement de Montréal
(along with 8D Technologies) was selected ahead of six other vendors, to share its technology
expertise used in Bixi and develop a similar public biking program in Minneapolis.