Bixi bamboozle to cost Toronto millions

Seemed like a good idea on paper. Bike kiosks every few blocks where green-minded citizens could rent a bike whenever the mood seized them.

Apparently the mood doesn't seize them nearly often enough. Either that or there's a lot of Torontonians talking the green talk but not following through by pedaling the green bike.

The good news is that Toronto looks like it might be able to limit its losses to somewhere in the $5 million range. When I wrote about Bixi's Montreal "Schwindle" a year and a half ago, those folks were on the hook for over a hundred million!

I think the difference is due to the absence of all those intermediaries that they have in Montreal; you know, those Italian guys who have a finger in all City of Montreal contracts and pedal around with hundreds of thousands of dollars in their socks.

Montreal taxpayers hosed for $108 million in bike-sharing schwinndle

Mon Dieu! What were they thinking?

These Bixi bikes folks had a great business plan. Save the planet and line their pockets at the same time. Company president Roger Plamondon quit the other day, admitting that it was unlikely the city would get it's money back.

Montrealers love a great idea and were so enamoured of this one they lent Bixi 108 million to help pull it through a tight spot a few months ago. You'd think that would raise a few red flags somewhere. How do you need 108 million to tide over your bicycle sharing business? Must have been one hell of a persuasive business plan Plamondon was waving around.

Now I don't have an MBA or anything fancy like that, but first thing I'd have done is count the bicycles. Bixi claims to have five thousand bicycles available in Montreal. That works out to over $21,000 per bicycle! Leafing through my trusty Sears catalogue I'm seeing a real nice Schwinn for $160. Guess the other $20,800 per bike was for "overhead".

Mr. Plamondon was last seen pedaling for the border at top speed.