The Montreal system is a disaster. I've tried to use it on and off from day 1. Here's a list of only the most common problems:

1. The bikes can easily be torn out of the locking posts, which breaks the station, so the next user cannot lock his bike there,

2. Often you check on the internet to see if there are free stations near your destination, only to find out that the stations are free because they are broken. In Montreal, the first 30 minutes of every bike ride are free. Because you cannot find a free station that works, you end up paying to cycle to a place that's often a long walk from your actual destination,

3. If you use it to commute to work, you will find that first most of the bikes are gone from near where you live by 7:00, and the bike stations in the centre of the city are almost full (sort of like the tube trains that are only full in one direction---common sense would tell you that would be a problem),

4. The bikes are not nearly as sturdy as you'd think for the price. The racks break off in no time,

5. The seats are easily stolen,

6. The stations themselves break down often, so you can't drop off your bixi,

7. The stations obviously don't indicate when the six 'available' bikes all have flat tires.

These are just the most common issues. Add the operating costs of the programme, and you could buy a new bike for every citizen every two years and just give the bikes away for free. These are projects that politicians love because they give them green credentials, but that just inordinate sums of money.