In 2022, BIXI reached a pivotal moment. After more than a decade of embedding bike sharing into the daily lives of Montrealers, the service still suffered from a limited perception, seen mainly as recreational and seasonal. But the city was changing, mobility was accelerating, and citizens were expecting more from public services: simplicity, sustainability, and a seamless experience.
In this context, BIXI entrusted Principal with the mandate to reposition its brand as a full-fledged player in Montreal’s public transportation network, capable of embodying performance, simplicity, and civic pride.
Getting Aligned Before Accelerating: Rethinking the Experience at Every Touchpoint Before accelerating BIXI’s growth, it was crucial to ensure the brand’s foundations were solid. Together with BIXI’s team, Principal analyzed the user journey to identify friction points between touchpoints, from bike to app, website to terminals. The goal was to turn this diversity of experiences into a fluid and coherent ecosystem where the visual language naturally connects the digital and physical worlds. This approach relied on three key levers:
Clarify the visual language and brand platform to strengthen recognition.
Streamline both digital and physical experiences to simplify usage.
Activate the brand in the field to foster proximity and a sense of belonging.
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Harmonizing the Experience Through Design Principal’s approach combined brand strategy, experience design, and organizational support to create a global impact across all brand vectors. The new website and mobile app form a smooth, intuitive ecosystem that simplifies every step of the journey. QR codes make onboarding easier, while redesigned terminal signage ensures clarity throughout the city.
On the ground, the Carefour BIXI, AMI BIXI program, and BIXI Squad strengthen proximity and engagement, transforming users into a true urban community. Finally, the employer brand aligns teams around a shared mission to make BIXI a collective service that is useful, human, and emblematic of Montreal.
“A public brand lives in the eyes of those who use it. By consolidating BIXI’s foundations to support its evolution and growth, we ensure the organization’s future has an extremely powerful engine,” explains Bryan-K. Lamonde, Creative Director and Partner at Principal.
Building a Unified Brand Narrative Rather than multiplying isolated messages, BIXI and Principal implemented a coherent, structured annual vision. Each campaign builds on the previous one, ensuring a clear and unified presence across all channels.
Guided by a solid typographic grid and an expanded palette, the brand speaks to diverse audiences without ever losing its voice. Campaign after campaign, BIXI grows in recognition, embedding itself in urban life with a presence that is both civic and creative.
“At Principal, we found partners who are courageous, accessible, and deeply engaged. Their proximity and direct way of collaborating created a unique dynamic. Our deep understanding of data, combined with their strategic and creative vision, formed a combination that propelled the project with remarkable precision,” summarizes Pierre-Luc Marier, Integrated Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs Director.
When Design Becomes a Driver of Growth and Engagement With a strong identity and a unified, clarified experience, BIXI entered a new phase of growth, fueled by public support and Montrealers’ attachment to the service.
Beyond performance, a genuine relationship of trust has emerged. Today, BIXI is perceived not only as a means of transportation but as a Montreal icon, a symbol of urban freedom, community, and civic design. A full-fledged player in Canada’s public transport ecosystem.
The impacts of this new approach, combined with BIXI’s marketing efforts, have produced tangible results on three key fronts:
A significant rise in service adoption metrics
The attraction of major new sponsors
A strengthened public perception
Here, design acts as a catalyst for growth and cohesion, capable of transforming a public service into a strong, shared civic brand.
Results and Impact The effects of the transformation were quickly felt. Adoption indicators rose sharply, supported by major new sponsorships with Loto-Québec, Fizz, Tangerine, and Beneva. BIXI is no longer seen as a seasonal service but as a Montreal icon, a symbol of urban freedom, community, and civic design.
Design here functions as a driver of growth and engagement. It connects teams, users, and the city around a shared collective project: rethinking mobility at a human scale.
Toward a National Public Transport Network With more than eleven million rides per season and a year-round offer, BIXI now goes beyond bike sharing. The service has become a true public transport network and a model for sustainable mobility.
But its ambition goes even further. By 2028, BIXI plans to expand across Quebec and assert its role as a national public transport operator.
This collaboration demonstrates how design can unite performance, affection, and social cohesion, transforming a public service into both a cultural and civic institution.
