Deficit-ridden BIXI bike-rental service to be set up in New York City in spring

MONTREAL – The BIXI bike-rental service is expanding into the Big Apple.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday that Alta Bicycle Share will put 10,000 bikes into service beginning next spring.

Alta Bicycle Share has already pressed the BIXIs into operation in other U.S. states and Australia.

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay was thrilled at the announcement but told a news conference he doesn’t know whether the New York operation will help erase the deficit facing Public Bike System Co., which oversees the bike-rental system.

Tremblay also announced that Chattanooga, Tenn., has ordered 300 bikes and that London, England, is adding 1,600 to the 6,000 it already operates.

The name BIXI is a combination of the words bicycle and taxi.