Bixi bike-sharing service in financial trouble

Montreal's auditorgeneral says he has serious doubts about whetherBixi's Montreal and Toronto bike-sharing services can continue theiroperations.

The news came in a letter addressed to the president of Public BikeSystem Company, known in French as the Socit de vlos en libre-service, orSVLS.

Auditor General Jacques Bergeron's report on Bixi'sfinancial year ending on Dec. 31, 2012 will be submitted to Montreal city council today.

In the letter, dated Sept. 11,Bergeron said theevidence he saw while compiling his annual report on Bixi's operationsled him to believe SVLSandBixiToronto were in serious trouble.

The Quebec-born bike-sharing service has lost millions of dollarssince hittingMontreal streets in 2008.

In 2011,Montreal's city council approved a $108-million bailout package for the program to cover a budget shortfall. That included a $37-million loan to cover Bixi's deficit, and another $71-million in loan guarantees to export and develop the system abroad.

The service spread to a number of cities in Canada and around the world.

New York City just this year introduced its version of Bixi, Citi Bike, to its city grid.