Q&A with Red Bike
This October, NABSA will convene its annual conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. The NABSA Annual Conference is the leading global venue for shared micromobility and transportation leaders, practitioners, operators, and equipment and service providers to tackle important issues facing the industry.
We caught up with Doug McClintock, Executive Director of Red Bike, to talk about the conference, shared micromobility, and more! Here are some of his thoughts:
Q: What is the significance of the conference being hosted in Cincinnati?
A: Welcoming NABSA to Cincinnati is significant because of the story Red Bike has written over the past 12 years. We’ve flirted with disaster, been saved by our community, and grown into our strongest year yet, all while deepening partnerships and expanding our influence locally, regionally, and nationally. Hosting the conference feels like recognition of that journey and a chance to celebrate the people who made it possible. We also think Cincinnati and Red Bike embody many of the realities of operating bike share in a mid-sized city. We’ve had to be creative, resilient, and relentlessly collaborative, and we know we’re not alone in that experience.
Q: What does hosting the conference mean for Red Bike, and why did you want to host?
A: Hosting NABSA is really our Operations Manager’s fault. When we were in Philadelphia for NABSA in 2024, Joe Koehl looked at me and said, “Why don’t we host this?” And, well…here we are.
Without that conversation, we may never have felt worthy of putting ourselves forward. We’ve always been the team hustling behind the scenes—small but mighty, piecing together unconventional funding, navigating politics, and doing whatever it takes to keep our system moving. So many of our peer cities are living that same reality. Hosting gives us the opportunity to stand in solidarity, share what’s worked (and what hasn’t), and hopefully send people home with ideas they can adapt in their own communities.
Beyond that, we’re all deeply in love with Cincinnati and the surrounding region. We want to show it off. It’s not perfect, and we’re not interested in pretending it is. It has real challenges, and we’ll talk honestly about them. But it’s also a city full of passionate people who care deeply about making change and roll up their sleeves every day to make it happen.
Q: What’s your favorite experience from a past conference?
A: There are so many moments that stand out—great panels, inspiring speakers, and those sparks of ideas that change the way you think about your work. But the moments that have stayed with me are the conversations between sessions, over coffee, or after dinner. This work is deeply personal for so many of us. When we have the space to wear our hearts on our sleeves, challenge our own assumptions, and learn from one another with honesty, that’s where the magic happens.
Q: What are you most excited about for the 2026 conference?
A: Showing off the hidden gem that is Cincinnati. People often arrive with one idea of what this city is and leave with a completely different one. I’m excited for attendees to experience the neighborhoods, the riverfront, the parks, the food, the BLINK festival, and, most importantly, the people who make this place special.
Q: What do you want people to experience in the mobile workshops?
A: I want people to get beyond the conference rooms and experience the city the way our riders do. The mobile workshops aren’t just about seeing infrastructure; they’re about understanding the context behind it. You’ll see places where we’ve made incredible progress, places where we’re still pushing for change, and meet the partners and advocates who have made that work possible. Hopefully people leave with practical ideas they can bring home and a better understanding that every city’s story is unique.
Q: If there’s one place people should see while they’re in Cincinnati, where should they go?
A: I’m cheating a little with my answer, but I’d tell people to spend an afternoon exploring Over-the-Rhine and Findlay Market, then make their way down to Smale Riverfront Park and across the Roebling Bridge into Covington. Within a few miles, you’ll experience so much of what makes this region special: historic neighborhoods, incredible local businesses, world-class parks, and one of the best urban riverfronts in the country.
Q: What’s a recently completed project that you’re excited to share with conference attendees?
A: I’m especially excited to show off the expansion and evolution of our system over the past few years, even under financial pressures. It’s not just new stations, but the partnerships that made them possible. We’ve learned that bike share isn’t just about putting bikes on the street. It’s about building relationships with neighborhoods, local governments, businesses, and community organizations. Those collaborations have made us stronger, and they’re something we’re proud to share.
Q: Why do you value your NABSA membership?
A: NABSA reminds us that we’re never doing this work alone. Whether you’re running one of the largest systems in North America or a mid-size nonprofit bike share like Red Bike, we’re all solving similar problems and learning from one another. The willingness of this community to share ideas, be transparent about failures, celebrate successes, and genuinely help one another is unlike anything I’ve experienced in another professional organization. Every year I leave feeling energized, challenged, and connected to people who understand why this work matters.
For more information and to register for the conference, go to nabsa.net/2026conference.