CINCINNATI — Red Bike won't be ending in Cincinnati after all, but there's still no guarantee it will be able to continue offering bicycle rentals throughout the city indefinitely.
The bikeshare program's board voted to shut to shut it down permanently last week because of funding issues that arose after it lost a major sponsor. Now, multiple organizations across Greater Cincinnati have pledged funding to keep Red Bike alive, totaling around $450,000. That includes a one-time commitment from the City of Cincinnati of $200,000.
That funding is nearly enough to keep Red Bike in operation without a deficit for the next 12 months, though Red Bike officials said the funding is still around $50,000 short of its full operating costs for the next year.
Thanks to the additional funding, though, Red Bike officials said they hope the bikeshare program can re-open on May 13.
The bikeshare service recently paused for the winter in January not due to lack of ridership, but due to too much growth with not enough funding.
Executive Director Douglas McClintock previously told WCPO 9 that it would have taken well over $250,000 to "really make sure that we were not having to close things down."
McClintock told WVXU the non-profit was facing budget issues after its biggest revenue source, UC Health, decided not to renew its sponsorship of RedBike in June.
At the same time, RedBike was expanding via capital grants. That left a steep deficit in the budget.
McClintock said a third of revenue for the program comes from fares, while the rest comes from corporate sponsorship and grants.
Red Bike previously announced an increase to ride fare, but he said funding needed to come from other avenues as well.
“People want to use this," McClintock said. "We know it's successful, and it has legs, we just got to put that funding underneath it.”
The bicycle rental service celebrated its ninth year in Cincinnati 2023, when it announced plans to expand Red Bike stations throughout the city. As of September, there were 70 different Red Bike stations within the region, with more planned for the future.
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