We discuss how the first two years of Cincinnati’s bike share program have gone, what tweaks have been made during that time, and where the system is going next. We also discuss Red Bike’s challenges in neighborhoods that are hillier and not as bike-friendly as Downtown Cincinnati and Over-the-Rhine.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
The much-awaited Cincinnati Bell Connector opened to the public on Friday, September 9, and gave over 50,000 rides during its grand opening three-day weekend.
Councilwoman Amy Murray, who serves as Chair of the Major Transportation and Regional Cooperation Committee, hosted the grand opening ceremony at Washington Park. In addition to Murray, there were 12 speakers including current and former politicians, transit officials, and business leaders. Many of the speakers thanked the streetcar supporters who kept the project going over the years as it faced obstacle after obstacle. Several used the opportunity to call for an expansion of the system, with former mayor Mark Mallory saying that it’s not a question of “if,” but “when” and “where” the streetcar goes next.
Four streetcars wait on Elm Street to pick up passengers for the start of service.
“Mr. Streetcar” John Schneider speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Mayor John Cranley signs the ceremonial shovel that John Schneider used at the groundbreaking of the system.
Cincinnati’s Mayor John Cranley, accompanied by First Lady Dena, speaks at the grand opening.
Former Mayor Mark Mallory speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Former Mayor Roxanne Qualls speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Carolyn Flowers, Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, speaks.
SORTA board chair Jason Dunn speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Ted Torbeck, CEO of Cincinnati Bell, speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Eric Avner, VP of the Haile Foundation, speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Vice Mayor David Mann speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
City Council President Pro Tem Yvette Simpson speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
City Council Member Chris Seelbach speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
City Council Member PG Sittenfeld speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
City Council Member Wendell Young speaks at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Cincinnati Reds mascots appear at the opening of the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Randomly selected crowed members “powered on” the streetcar system in lue of a traditional ribbon cutting.
Members of the NKY Streetcar committee wear shirts reading, “Next Stop, Northern Kentucky!”
“Mr. Cincinnati” Jim Tarbell takes one of the inaugural rides on the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
UrbanCincy’s Randy Simes takes one of the inaugural rides on the Cincinnati Bell Connector.
Ken Prendergast, Executive Director of rail advocacy group All Aboard Ohio, rides the streetcar.
Streetcar riders livestreamed the ride using Facebook Live and other social media networks.
At first, streetcars had enough room to sit, but quickly became standing room only.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
All five streetcars were in service and full of riders all weekend.
Passengers wait to board the Cincinnati Bell Connector at the Findlay Market Elm Street station.
Passengers wait to board the Cincinnati Bell Connector at the Findlay Market Race Street station.
Route maps feature Red Bike stations in addition to the streetcar route.
A new Red Bike station has been added right next to the Brewery District streetcar stop.
Rhinegeist Brewery opened at noon on Friday to welcome riders and give out limited edition streetcar pint glasses.
The Brewery District station in front of Rhinegeist Brewery was very popular all weekend.
Transit advocates from Poznań, Poland came to witness the opening of Cincinnati’s modern streetcar system.
A group of Kansas City Streetcar advocates and leaders visit Cincinnati for the opening of their sister system.
August’s Second Sunday on Main was the first to be served by the Connector.
Wash Park Art decorated their storefront with green balloons reminiscent of the Believe in Cincinnati campaign.
Many businesses along the route displayed pro-streetcar messages.
After the first five ceremonial rides, the Connector opened to the public around noon. It was free to ride all weekend thanks to donations from Believe in Cincinnati, streetcar manufacturer CAF, Cincinnati Bell, Fred Craig, the Haile Foundation, and Joseph Automotive Group. Each station was staffed with volunteers who helped inform riders about the how the system works, where it goes, and how to pay your fare after the start of revenue service. Additionally, a number of special events and activities took place place near each of the streetcar stations, ranging from DJs to ballet dancers to sidewalk chalk artists. Many businesses along the route offered special streetcar-themed food, drinks, and merchandise.
The system initially opened with four out of the five streetcars in service, but the fifth was put into service around 4 p.m. on Friday and all five continued to operate for the remainder of the weekend. The system operated at nearly maximum capacity all weekend, with lines of people waiting to board at each station.
Unfortunately, the system was forced to close on Saturday afternoon due to a bomb threat. The threat, which appears to be connected to similar threats made over the weekend at the Cincinnati Zoo and two local high school football games, was not believed to be credible, but the system was closed down as a precautionary measure. After a bomb-sniffing dog searched all five streetcars and found nothing, they were put back in to service.
Despite this setback, the system transported passengers on 18,141 trips on Friday, 17,160 on Saturday, and 15,345 on Sunday, for a grand total of 50,646 trips during the grand opening.
After the free weekend, revenue service began Monday morning on the Cincinnati Bell Connector. The fare is $1 for a two-hour pass, or $2 for an all-day pass. No streetcar-specific monthly pass is available, but a monthly Metro pass includes rides on the streetcar as well as Metro buses. Tickets can be purchased at kiosks at each station, or using the Cincy EZRide app which is now available in the iOS App Store and Google Play.
Earlier this week we received news that UrbanCincy had been approved by Google reviewers and will now be listed as an official Google News provider. What this means is that UrbanCincy, along with the other more traditional news outlets in Cincinnati, will now have its stories automatically pulled into Google News results.
According to reviewers, “Google News aims to organize all the world’s news and make it accessible to its users, while providing the best possible experience for those seeking useful and timely news information. Our ability to meet these goals depends critically on the quality of the sites included in Google News.”
UrbanCincy Google News Result
They go on to say that Google is able to meet those goals by maintaining strict guidelines and standards that help one of the world’s largest technology companies maintain fairness and consistency for website inclusion.
In particular, Google reviewers examine websites by five key metrics – news content, journalistic standards, authority, accountability, and readability. Google’s approval of UrbanCincy validates that we not only produce accurate and authoritative information, but do so in an accountable manner by using real names and providing contact information for our writers and editors.
It also means that you can rely on UrbanCincy for actual news that goes beyond the flood of listicles, how-to articles, advice columns or job postings that are found on so many other websites.
Our eighth year anniversary is quickly approaching, and we hope you will continue to stick with us over the coming months as we roll out a series of changes and improvements to our website, podcast and social media platforms. Thanks for reading.
On the 43rd episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast, Randy, Jake, John and Travis discuss the results of the 2014 election. We also speculate on what county issues might end up on the ballot in 2015, including a potential sales tax increase / property tax rollback to fund the county’s new digs in Mt. Airy.
On the 38th episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast, our guest Yoon-Sun Chang joins Randy in Seoul to talks with John and Travis back in Cincinnati. We discuss some of the experiences of Randy, an American now residing in Korea, and Yoon-Sun, a Korean who studied at DAAP in Cincinnati.