On direction from city officials, bike share nonprofit Cincinnati Red Bike shut down overnight on March 29 to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
And today, they announced that shut-down is over.
Red Bike is reopening this afternoon (May 28) after submitting a detailed plan to the Cincinnati Health Department.
“Red Bike has been a great partner to the city and they have gone to great lengths to reopen safely,” said Mayor John Cranley. “Reopening Red Bike will bring back a vital transit option and encourage people to get out and exercise. It’s a beautiful day to ride a bike!”
Part of the health and safety facets of the reopening plan include a two-pronged approach to cleaning and disinfecting both the bikes and docking stations, says a release. Red Bike says a "physical coating will be applied to the touch points of the bikes and stations that destroys viruses and bacteria and lasts for several months." And each bike station will be cleaned/disinfected with an EPA-approved cleaner every time a Red Bike team member services it. All team members will also be wearing masks and gloves and will be social distancing when in the Red Bike Shop.
“Nothing is more important than the health and safety of the community. In many ways, Red Bike exists as a public health initiative to encourage people to use active transportation and live healthier lives,” said Red Bike Executive Director, Jason Barron, in the release. “We’ve all been cooped up. We are excited to reopen Red Bike and help people get outside and get some much-needed exercise and stress relief with a good long bike ride in the sun.”
Each station will also have anti-COVID reminders for riders, including to wash your hands before and after a ride (or use sanitizer), don't ride if you're sick, wear a mask if you can, use personal disinfectant, social distance if you go on a group ride, don't loiter at a Red Bike station and give clearance to other riders, cars and pedestrians.
“We all have a responsibility to keep ourselves and others protected from this virus. Bike share is no different,” Barron said. “We will be cleaning the bikes as often as we can, but as with the rest of the world, each rider needs to be proactive in being as safe as possible when they use Red Bike.”
Red Bike is launching a Bike It Forward campaign to give free monthly memberships to health care workers and first responders as a thank you for their contributions to the coronavirus pandemic. They will also be offering free advertising to local restaurants and bars on their station kiosks and bikes.
For more info, visit cincyredbike.org. And more about their return to service plan at cincyredbike.org/return-to-service.
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