Montreal's popular Bixi rental bike program is in its second year. Montreal's popular Bixi rental bike program is in its second year. (Corinne Smith/CBC)

A plan to bring bike-sharing to the National Capital Region has hit a roadblock: No company wants the contract.

After a promising pilot program last summer that saw the sleek, sturdy Montreal-built Bixi bicycle make its appearance at four locations in Ottawa-Gatineau, it appeared certain the commuter bikes would soon be a regular sight.

The NCC found 3,000 people used the Bixi during the program and a feasibility study determined the service would be economically viable. The study recommended the service begin with 500 bicycles at 50 stations, 32 in Ottawa and 18 in Gatineau, mainly in the downtown cores to begin with.

How it works

In major cities including Paris and Montreal, thousands of bicycles are locked to racks scattered across the area. After paying a fee to join the service, users can pick up a bicycle at one station, pedal it wherever they're going — the average ride lasts less than 30 minutes — and lock it up at another station. There is no requirement to return the cycle to the original rack.

Ottawa and Gatineau city councils and the NCC put up $1.2 million for the proposed contract. And while the big rollout was always planned for 2011, NCC officials said they also wanted the bicycles on the street by June of this year so the program wouldn't be interrupted.

However, officials say the terms of the proposed contract appear to have scared off bidders.

The NCC wanted the winning company to own the bicycles and locking stations, but companies didn't seem to want the financial risk of that kind of arrangement: No bike-sharing companies responded, including the Montreal company whose Bixi bicycles were used in the pilot project.

Without offering specific reasons, a spokesperson for The Public Bike System Co. told CBC News the company was not happy with the NCC's requirements.

"I think there was probably more flexibility in the suppliers last year," Jean-François Trépanier, vice president of operations at the NCC said, describing a time when there was less competition for the service. "Montreal, it was their first year last year, and I take them as an example. As demand grows, maybe they can refine the type of agreement they want with the municipal sector."

Part of transportation plan

Officials say the NCC will put out a second request for proposals soon, one that would see Ottawa, Gatineau and the NCC buy the 500 bicycles and the locking stations and then contract out the operations.

If successful, the bikes could return in the fall to promote a big rollout next year, and that's important to the region's overall transportation plan, Trépanier said.

"Some tourists may use it for short distance but we see this mainly for the population of the National Capital Region and eventually with LRT in Ottawa or RapidBus in Gatineau," Trépanier said. "People may take their bus and then use a bike-share system to get to their actual place of work."

Trépanier said it appears the program could cost taxpayers more than originally planned, though the amount is uncertain. However, he added, that doesn't mean the NCC will scale back the number of bicycles and stations. If the system is to work, a large number of locking stations is required.

The fact that more cities, including Minneapolis, Minn., Melbourne, Australia, and Washington D.C., have begun the Bixi service in recent months is good news for Ottawa, Trépanier said, because travellers returning to the area will be familiar with them when the service is established in the National Capital Region.