Red Bike, e-scooter weekend restrictions: Cincinnati police cite success while data remains limited

CINCINNATI — Are the restrictions on Red Bikes helping to reduce crime downtown and in Over-the-Rhine? The answer is complicated.

Watch our breakdown of what you need to know about Red Bike: 

What is happening?

At a press conference on July 9, Cincinnati City Manager Sheryl Long said she was told by officers that the bike share program was being used to commit property crimes, steal guns and create quality of life issues in the downtown and Over-the-Rhine areas.

"They become a useful tool for criminals intent on causing harm," Long said.

Last week, the city announced Red Bikes and e-scooters would be restricted on weekend nights through the end of August. The city had announced ahead of the July 4 weekend that it was on a week-by-week review.

The city said the closure impacts all stations downtown and in Over-The-Rhine. West End stations are also included in the closures, Red Bike confirmed Thursday.

Unaffected stations include Lower Price Hill, Shelterhouse and Lunken, as well as all "Uptown" and Northern Kentucky locations.

Our team spoke with business owners when the closure announcement was made on July 2.

Billy Watson, owner of Kitty's Sports Grill, shared surveillance video with WCPO showing a group of people riding Red Bikes near his business and apparently breaking into cars in broad daylight.

Hear more from Watson in the video below:

Have the closures been successful?

At a special council committee on Wednesday, Long said there has been progress since implementing the overnight RedBike restrictions on Fridays and Saturdays.

"We have seen a reduction in our theft from auto since implementing this measure," Long said. "Too many guns are being stolen from vehicles, and we will make every effort to reduce the likelihood of this happening."

Council member Anna Albi specifically asked what data points are tracking the progress of the Red Bike ban.

Long replied: "This has been a very good investment for [Cincinnati Police]. They are seeing this as an improvement."

Rob Pieper/WCPO

However, Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge acknowledged the difficulty in proving the effectiveness of the Red Bike restrictions in data points.

"There are some things the data just doesn't capture for us, and that's where I have to listen to the officers or the boots on the ground doing the work," Theetge said. "And if they tell me they're seeing something that is helping their efforts or hindering their efforts, I need to take them at their word."

'Flip the switch'

Cincinnati City Council Member Mark Jeffreys, one of Red Bike's most vocal supporters, asked the administration for specific property crime data for the downtown and OTR neighborhoods.

He said he understands qualitative officer feedback, but highlighted the chief’s comments that the Red Bike closure is happening at the same time the task force and drones are out.

"It’s not clear that, oh, because we shut down Red Bike and Lime, that that is the single variable," Jeffreys said. "We haven't actually seen the data downtown anyway, and that's why I asked for the data downtown."

The council member said he thinks "this week should flip the switch."

Jeffreys suggests using the bikes to help catch criminals instead, noting that each bike has an identifying number linked to a name and credit card information.

Rob Pieper/WCPO

"Can we actually use it, in fact, as a tool to catch people rather than penalizing people who are using it for their employment, for their travel," he said.

This would require communication between police and Red Bike.

When we asked if that two-way communication was happening yet between Red Bike and police, Jeffreys said there was recent progress: "Yeah, no, I actually had a conversation with the manager's office on Friday, and they've requested that data."

Another financial headache

The restrictions come less than two months after Red Bike figured out a three-year financial plan, which included $125,000 from the city of Cincinnati.

Jeffreys said Red Bike was “eating” the cost but didn’t know the scale.

WCPO asked about the amount it's losing among a list of other questions, but CEO Doug McClintock only responded with the following statement:

"As a partner of the City, we will continue to work with City administration as they address the current issues in our community. We recognize the challenges these closures may present to our members, and we appreciate their patience in this moment as we seek collaborative solutions."

Red Bike has previously said the summer months are their busiest.

Watch our previous reporting about Red Bike’s financial troubles:

More investment needed?

Additional funding may be necessary for technology upgrades for Red Bike, Long suggested on Wednesday to council.

E-scooters can be geo-fenced and locked by location because of their motor, but Red Bike doesn't have that capability.

"We have a fleet of bikes that definitely need to have those upgrades, and I'm happy to work with them to figure out: 'how do we make this happen?'" Long said. "I've asked the executive director to give me all the things that we could potentially consider, and then we should look at what is the cost."

"This could be a financial ask that is needed, that we're going to need not just the city, but additional support from other people," Long said.

Political opposition responds

Political candidates are also weighing in on the controversy. Former council member and current candidate Laketa Cole expressed skepticism about the restrictions.

"I'm not understanding how they think that not having a bicycle is going to solve any crime," Cole said.

Aaron Weiner, another candidate from the Charter Committee, was similarly critical.

"I feel like that's an example of optics over action," said Weiner.