A cyclist takes advantage of brilliant sunny weather to take a ride along the boardwalk by Lake Ontario in Toronto.FRANK GUNN/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Bike-rental company Bixi will be moving 17 stations in Toronto to expand its service territory by 50 per cent starting Nov. 26.
The new plan establishes stations past Bathurst Street, with a station at Bloor Street and Euclid Avenue being the most westerly. In the east, a station will be moved from the CNE to the Distillery District intersection of Trinity and Front Streets.
By taking lesser-used stations and moving them to busier areas, the rental service hopes to provide bikes where there were none, as well as more places for customers to end their rides.
In its first six months in Toronto, Bixi reported 332,363 rides on its 1,000 bikes. Bixi couldn't provide figures for Montreal's inaugural six months, but looking at its first year (2009) on a ride-per-bike basis, Toronto is catching on faster, boasting a higher ratio of rides to bikes. However, the city has a way to go. From April to November this year, Montreal's 5,050 shared bikes boasted 4.2 million rides, 831 per bike compared with 332 per bike in Toronto.
List of Bixi station relocations for the winter season:
The station at the intersection Shuter and Bond will be moved to the southwest corner of Sherbourne and Carlton.
The station at the Canadian National Exhibition will be moved to the Distillery District intersection of Trinity and Front.
The station at Peter and Queen Streets will be moved to the intersection of Bathurst and Queen's Quay to accommodate those looking to travel to the airport on Toronto Island.
The station at Duncan and Queen Streets will be moved to the northeast corner or Queen and Vanauley.
The station at Mutual and Gould Streets (Ryerson University) will be moved to the southwest corner of the same intersection.
The station at Harter and Bay Streets will be moved to the northeast corner of Euclid and Bloor.
The station at Beverley and College Streets will be moved to the southeast corner of Bathurst and Lennox.
The station at College Street and Grange Avenue will be moved to the southeast corner of Queen and Portland Streets.
The station at College and Roberts Streets will be moved to the northwest corner of College and Major Streets.
The station at Hoskin Avenue and Devonshire Place will be moved to the southeast corner of Bloor and Brunswick.
The station at the intersection of Surrey Place and Grosvenor Avenue will be moved to the northeast corner of King Street and Princess Avenue.
The station at the intersection of Yonge and Dundonald will be moved to the northeast corner of College and Borden Streets.
The station at University Avenue. and Richmond Street will be moved to the southeast corner of Wellington and Portland Streets.
The station at Church Street and Granby Avenue will be moved to the northwest corner of Church and Alexander Streets.
The station at the intersection of University Avenue and Charles Street will be moved to the northeast corner of Bay Street and Scollard Avenue.
The station at the intersection of Mutual Avenue and Dundas Street will be moved to the northeast corner of Sherbourne and Wellesley Streets.
The station at Jarvis and Shuter Avenue will be moved to the southeast corner of Bathurst and Dundas Streets.