Several Veo scooters appeared in Grand Rapids Friday ahead of a City Commission vote to approve the company as the city’s sole micromobility provider.
The scooters spotted in town Friday were Veo’s Cosmo ve1 model, a seated electric scooter. The vehicles were being assembled in a garage at The Source, an employment assistance nonprofit.
A city spokesperson told The Grand Rapids Herald that it was Veo’s decision to bring the scooters in early, not the city’s.
“Because of the short runway prior to September 1, [Veo] probably wanted to get started early to prepare,” he wrote via text message.
While Veo is not currently authorized to operate in Grand Rapids, members of the City Commission are expected to vote Tuesday on whether to phase out Lime, the city’s current vendor for electric scooters and bikes, in favor of Veo. If approved, Veo would begin launching its services in September.
A Veo representative on site said they believed the scooters were undergoing the final stages of approval with city officials. That individual added that in the event the scooters were not approved by the City Commission, they would be shipped to another market.
A Linkedin page for a Veo employee also claims that they were “selected by leadership to lead a new market launch” in Grand Rapids.
When asked for comment, Paige Miller, Veo director of communications, said via email, “Veo’s service is not live in Grand Rapids. The contract has not been signed as it is scheduled to be voted on next week.”
City Manager Mark Washington also released a video this month in which he acknowledged the commission was briefed on partnering with Veo, but noted the decision was still pending approval.
“If approved, there will be a transition period in the month of September,” he said. “We’ll be rolling out Veo simultaneously while having Lime vehicles in our city. Starting near October, we’ll go back to one sole provider and that will be Veo.”
Commissioner AliciaMarie Belchak told The Herald she is in favor of bringing Veo to the city, but could not speak for her commission colleagues’ thoughts on the matter.
“I am happy to see the city staff bringing new options forward to improve our city’s micro-mobility system,” she wrote via text. “The cost savings for users and the seated scooters are very attractive to me. Any time we can make it easier and more accessible for people to use these alternative modes of transportation is a good thing. I see no reason why we shouldn’t embrace this transition to a new vendor.”
Veo vehicles come equipped with front-facing sensors which can detect and prevent crashes, while deterring users from riding on sidewalks. Commissioner Milinda Ysasi said at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting that she believes Veo’s offering of a seated scooter would be an asset to city commuters.
Veo scooters were deployed in Denver in May and have led to local frustration. Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds told Denver News 7 he has received over 100 complaints from constituents stemming from concerns about Veo vehicles blocking sidewalks and creating clutter on city streets.
Write to jackson@grherald.com