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With over 1,000 rides per day since its launch in 2021, the city of Syracuse is among the most popular user locations for Veo, an electric scooter and bike rideshare service. But within the bounds of Syracuse University’s campus, Veo scooters aren’t in use at all.

Syracuse users rode Veo’s 350 vehicles in the city 38,752 times during May 2022, according to reports presented by Veo in a Syracuse Common Council Committee meeting on May 17. But when the scooters reach the university campus’s boundary – currently a “no ride zone” – the vehicles will slowly shut down, explained Olivia Ortega, Veo’s policy and partnership manager for the region.

Veo, founded in 2017, is a rental transportation system with a mission to promote micromobility, an approach to transportation which turns to electric or light-weight vehicles in an effort to reduce automotive vehicle use. Veo has fleets in over 30 cities and nine college campuses across eight U.S. states. Syracuse is one of only three cities in New York state where Veo operates.

Despite having a smaller fleet than other cities, Syracuse had the second highest number of Veo rides in the nation in May, according to the Common Council report.

“We really, really got a stronghold in the market over the course of the last year,” Ortega said. “That’s when we saw riders in Syracuse start to very much adopt the micromobility that they were seeing and a really strong ridership.”

Ortega said Veo has participated in conversations with SU related to introducing the vehicles to campus over the past year. SU Transportation did not immediately respond to request for comment regarding potential engagement with Veo.

This semester, SA hopes to add about five Veo stations with a combination of Veo’s electric scooters, sitting scooters and electric bikes on strategic locations throughout main and South campus and the areas surrounding, SA President David Bruen said.

“Transportation is a big issue on campus. It’s been a consistent issue for years now,” Bruen said. “Veo scooters have existed, and they became really popular, but…there’s no official partnership able to be used on campus.”

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Now, SA and Veo are working to intentionally select Veo locations on campus to ensure that students have as much access as possible to the transportation service, Bruen said. He said the two hope to end up with a fair balance of locations around SU’s campus.

Bruen said SA is “seriously considering” methods of subsidizing the transportation service based on cost and vehicle usage to ensure the vehicles are accessible both physically and financially,

SA and Veo are currently discussing logistics relating to geofencing – technology which can determine which speeds are permitted in certain areas – and Syracuse’s winter weather, Bruen said.

Bruen also emphasized the importance of geofencing during winter months. He said that slick sidewalks on a scooter could become a “dangerous situation” if there is no speed regulation on the vehicles. Because of the lack of geofencing, the vehicles are currently “winterized” and put away for the harshest winter months.

Currently, students often use Veo’s services outside of campus boundaries. Freshman musical theater major Sydney Short said she values the ability to ride the scooters to reach Syracuse Stage, which is around a mile from the main campus, instead of needing to walk or ride the bus.

“I will never order an Uber or take the 443 again,” Short said. “The Veo scooters are so much fun and I think everyone should ride one at least once while they’re here on campus.”

Ortega said Veo has experienced great success on college campuses, pointing to the ability to travel short distances and reach campus destinations more efficiently as a significant enhancement to the college experience.

Bruen said there is no definite timeline for the integration of Veo on campus, but that SA is “very eager” and looks forward to coming to an agreement with the company this semester.

Despite being “winterized” for the beginning of the semester, Veo will be relaunching this spring. Ortega said Syracuse residents should expect to see vehicles out and about starting Feb. 24.

“We’re really excited about the possibility of expanding on SU’s campus,” said Ortega. “We found that the demographic on university campuses really get it, like they really understand micromobility and how useful it can be.”

Published on January 24, 2023 at 11:24 pm

Contact Kendall: kaluther@syr.edu