8D Technologies

8D Technologies was a Canadian company that developed bicycle-sharing systems and automated parking management systems. It merged with Motivate in 2017. 8D Technologies was founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1996, by CTO Jean-Sébastien Bettez. Initially a professional services firm, the company shifted its focus towards the product market in 2000 when Jean-Sébastien's sister, Isabelle Bettez, joined 8D and became its CEO. In 2002, 8D Technologies, along with partner Cale Systems, was selected by Société en commandite Stationnement de Montréal (SCSM), Montreal's parking authority, to provide an automated parking management system for the city. 8D provided the technological platform (terminal computers, network technology, software platform) while Cale manufactured the terminals. The new pay by space system would replace Montreal's thousands of aging mechanical parking meters. The new system, consisting of solar-powered payment terminals that wirelessly process payments in real-time, was programmed in Java on a Linux platform. After successfully testing the platform in 2003, notably with regards to Montreal's cold winters, SCSM started to deploy terminals on the streets of Montreal in 2004. When the city of Montreal decided to implement a bicycle sharing system in 2007, it mandated SCSM to carry out the project. SCSM created the not-for-profit organization Société de vélo en libre-service (SVLS) to operate the BIXI bike share system. Building on the success of the wireless payment solution that equipped SCSM's automated parking system, 8D Technologies provided the technological platform for the BIXI program, including the wireless solar-powered bike station terminals, the RFID bike dock technology and all software systems. Over the next 2 years, BIXI would rapidly expand by selling the 8D-powered bike share system to cities around the world: Melbourne in May 2010 (Melbourne Bike Share), Minneapolis in June 2010 (Nice Ride Minnesota), London in July 2010 (Barclays Cycle Hire), Washington, D.C.