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| - We give Bixi some credit, it was easy to use the system all day - taking bikes out, adjusting seats, securing my bag, returning bikes. But this is barely two stars because there aren't many stations past the very heart of the city center - the edge of the map is really - the edge of the map. We went to Ossington between Dundas and Queen (a popular neighborhood area still very much in the city) and there was not a station to be had. Odd.
We give Toronto ZERO stars for bikeability.
We are experienced cyclists and have cycled all over the US and in Europe. Though there are a lot of people cycling in Toronto, I must say they are brave, and I felt like one of those brave souls. In the days before we checked out Bixi I found myself wincing numerous times at the situations I saw Toronto cyclists navigating in. In Toronto there are barely any bike lanes, traffic is whizzing by quickly, it is impossible to tell where to ride with the exception of a few select blocks that actually have sharrows (which never work btw) or actual bike lanes. I felt like I was in all those bad videos and pictures one sees of conditions never to bicycle in. I was so glad at the end of the day to check my last bike in and walk on my own two feet.
If Bixi is going to survive in Toronto, they need to work with the city of Toronto to make cycling easier and SAFER, install more way-finding sings, provide maps for users who do not have international cell phone plans, and familiarizing hotels with how to share information about their system. Having a bike alternative for our tired legs was a great idea in theory, using it in practice not a great reality.
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