Grant will expand the impact of successful Red Bike Go program
Cincinnati – Red Bike has won a Living Lab Grant from the Better Bike Share Partnership to invest in and grow the Red Bike Go program, which provides equitable access to bikeshare. The Living Lab grant, a two and a half year $200,000 grant, will allow Red Bike to develop and test innovative, new strategies and programs to increase access to bikeshare in the region. The goal of the Living Lab program is to develop best practices locally in bikeshare laboratories in the winning cities that can then be replicated in bikeshare systems throughout the country.
Red Bike is one of only five organizations across the country to be designated a Living Lab City by the Better Bike Share Partnership, a national organization dedicated to building equitable and replicable shared micromobility systems. Other cities receiving Living Lab grants include, Portland, Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia, the original Living Lab.
“This is an exciting affirmation of what we’ve done so far,” said Elese Daniel, Red Bike Education and Outreach Manager. “And it will really allow us to build out our programming, community relationships, and team in a way that I hope connects more and more people to biking – for all the reasons they need or want to use a bike.”
The Red Bike Go Living Lab will focus on three key areas of growth. First, the Cincinnati Living Lab will work with community members, organizations, and artists to expand the Red Bike network into new neighborhoods and communities, including Lower Price Hill, Walnut Hills, and further within the West End. Second, Red Bike is piloting several youth bike programs in these target neighborhoods, working directly with teens and community partners. Third, Red Bike will collaborate with communities and artists to infuse artistic activations throughout expansion and programming.
Red Bike will be hiring additional staff to help launch and manage the Red Bike Go Living Lab. Currently Red Bike is taking applications for an Outreach and Membership Management Assistant to support all outreach and community engagement efforts. A full description of the position is available at www.cincyredbike.org/jobs. Red Bike also will be hiring additional Outreach Ambassadors and Interns in the coming months.
“Ensuring that everyone not only has access to Red Bike, but more importantly feels like Red Bike is actively catering to them has been a priority from day one,” said Jason Barron, Executive Director of Red Bike. “We are incredibly proud that the Red Bike Go Program is one of the best and most creative bikeshare equity programs in the country, and we cannot wait to see what we come up with over the next two plus years.”
Red Bike Go was launched in 2018 to drive Red Bike’s equity efforts. It began as a discounted $5 monthly membership for individuals experiencing lower-income, which allows for unlimited 2-hour bike rides for 30 days. Red Bike Go has quickly become one of the most successful bikeshare equity programs in the country. Over 700 hundred people have accessed the program. Last year, over 25% of all Red Bike rides were taken by members of the Go program.
The Red Bike Go Living Lab is all about creating partnership throughout the Cincinnati community to increase bike riding. Red Bike is actively looking for new community and corporate partnerships to help make the Living Lab a success. Interested organizations should complete a Community Partner Form, accessible here. To discuss corporate partnerships or sponsorships opportunities, contact Red Bike directly at support@cincyredbike.org.
About Red Bike
Red Bike is a 501c3, non-profit, with 59 bike share stations and over 500 publicly shared bicycles throughout Cincinnati, Newport, Covington, and Bellevue. In 2019, Red Bike became one of the first bike share systems in the country to add electric-assist bicycles to the fleet.
About Better Bike Share Partnership
The Better Bike Share Partnership is a collaboration to build equitable and replicable shared micromobility systems. The partners include The City of Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the PeopleForBikes Foundation.
Full press release from the Better Bike Share Partnership is available here.