transportation Keyword
Bixi Bikes
Need to get around Montreal? Jump on a Bixi Bike!
These public bikes are a brilliant idea. All you need to do to hire a bike is swipe your credit card. You get a little receipt with a code on it. Next you just choose any bike, enter the code and you’re off riding. The bikes are brilliant. Sturdy and well maintained. Not once in my time here have I encountered a damaged or clunky bike.
The way the model works is that you pay $5 to have access to the Bixi’s for a day (on a casual basis, cheaper for montly and yearly subscriptions) and you can ride the Bixi where ever you like, for how ever long you like with a scaling pricing structure for longer lengths of time. The best part? If you take a bike back to ANY base station within 30 minutes of grabbing one it costs you NOTHING. You can do this all day just taking a bike, riding where you want to go and leaving it. Such a brilliant idea. There are a ridiculous amount of stations and bikes, so you’re never far from a bixi station and they are carefully positioned to utilise high traffic routes but they cover the smaller streets as well.
As a rider I dig the Bixi’s. They are great for the environment, comfortable and best of all they are technically advanced. Check out their website which has stats on how far the bikes have ridden, maps for phones and account management. I freaking love Bixi!
Busabout
Probably the single greatest descision I made on my Odyssey so far was to jump on a Busabout coach, rather than buy myself a Eurorail Pass.
For those who don’t know Busabout is a service that runs a series of busses in constant loops around regions in Europe. They operate three main loops, North, South and West and offer a range of options for how you would like to tackle these routes.
The main benefit I thought intially was the flexibility it provided. You’re not locked into any particular schedule (other than the days the buses will be in your area) and you don’t need to follow any specific set route. If you want to skip a whole section and meet up with a bus a few countries away you can do that. While this was a bonus it wasn’t the be-all and end-all.
I then thought it was the convenience the bus provided. Being dropped right at the door of a hostel, bags all secure and after having had a nice relaxing bus ride is pretty awesome. Every bus has an awesome driver and talented guide who are always willing to help, but in the end it wasn’t this that has cemented busabout as my mode of travel of choice.
No it was the passengers. Each bus saw you meet up with new people, all who seemed like minded. Everyone was out to find their own adventure and have fun in the process. Busabout isn’t the boozy shagfest that Contiki and Top Deck are known for. You wont find (that many) deadhead 18 yearolds spending their parents money. I met awesome people with every bus ride, I longed for the busses to arrive at my hostels to see what old and new friends it might bring. Stories were swapped, tips made, drinks shared and friendships founded.
I had a fantastic time on Busabout, and anyone wishing to travel around Europe I can’t recommend the service enough. Infact I’m gonna apply for a Guide job the moment I hit Australia. I can’t get enough.
To my favorite busabout crew members: Zoltan, Nicola, Coops, Owen, Ben and the irrepressible Lucash. Thank you!