Cyclists on the Gardiner Expressway during the Becel Ride for Heart head for the finish line. (Dwight Friesen/CBC)

Toronto may become the latest city to operate a fleet of stylish and convenient rental bicycles.

The city is looking at buying a fleet of 3,000 bikes and launching a pay-as-you-go public bicycle system next spring.

The system would allow users to pick up a bike at one location and drop it off at another, using self-serve kiosks across the city.

A credit card would be used to unlock a bike and the customer would be charged by the hour.

Similar systems are already in place in cities like Montreal, Paris and Berlin.

Coun. Adrian Heaps, who chairs the Toronto cycling committee, is pushing the idea.

"Basically it's whatever people think of in terms of car-sharing companies, we're applying to bicycles."

The idea is to put the bikes into self-serve rental stations from Parkside Drive to Broadview Avenue and Dupont Street to Queen's Quay.

"The key," according to Heaps, "is to have a bike rental opportunity within 300 metres, so that way it becomes as convenient as hailing a cab."

And there are real benefits to consider.

"Traffic congestion costs between two and four billion dollars per year. It's a climate change imperative, it's addressing the environmental concerns of the city as well," said Heaps.

Yvonne Bambrick of the Toronto Cyclists Union calls it a good first step.

"I think people — once they see it working and once they've had a chance to try it — communities are going to start saying 'Hey! What about us?'"

"Yeah, we think it's going to change the landscape of the city," said Herb vanden Dool of the Community Bicycle Network.

"This is more about being able to access a bike in the downtown whenever you want to and you don't have to worry about locking up your own bike, you just pick up whatever bike you want."

That ease of use has made it take off in Paris, but it's also potentially the system's downside.

After only 18 months, Paris has had half of its original 15,000 rental bikes stolen.