Amir Samarghandi

asamarghandi@enquirer.com

Red Bike went far in the first full calendar year of Cincinnati's bike-sharing program: riders traveled the equivalent of the earth's diameter 37 times, saved more than 18,000 gallons of gasoline and burned more than 3,300 pounds worth of calories in the process, according to a news release.

The report released Monday covers the period from the launch of the non-profit in September 2014 through its first full calendar year.

By June 2015, Red Bike increased in size by 70 percent, adding 21 more stations to increase the total to 50. 17,683 different people rode on the 116,739 rides that took place during the first year of the bike-sharing system that covers two states and four cities, the release said.

74 percent of respondents rode a bike either never or less than once a month before Red Bike opened, according to a user survey of more than 1,400 riders. 78 percent said that Red Bike made Cincinnati a more enjoyable place to live.

The amount of gas saved in the first year is equivalent to 335,000 pounds of carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere. Riders burned over 11.5 million calories during Red Bike's initial calendar year, equivalent to 3,329 pounds of weight loss. The earth's diameter is 7,915 miles, while riders traveled more than 293,000 miles during that time.

“Red Bike has gotten off to a dream start. We will work to continue providing the highest quality and most fun transportation option in Cincinnati,” said Leslie Maloney, president of the Red Bike board of directors, in the release.

Red Bike currently has 385 bikes with 1,200 annual members and 200 semester members.

The full annual report and user survey is available here.