Common councilors voted unanimously Tuesday to renew a contract with e-vehicle ridesharing service Veo after hashing out safety concerns and adding a discounted program in low-income areas.
The council last publicly discussed the contract renewal at a public hearing in September, where Veo and city personnel fielded questions from councilors and argued for the contract to be renewed. The city had a previous contract with Veo that ran from 2021-2024. In those three years, the city has seen more than 1 million rides through the service, according to Veo policy and partnerships manager Joe Bott, who presented to the council at the September hearing.
Following a three-month extension, that contract lapsed Dec. 31, 2024.
The council approved the new contract for a one-year period, which includes two one-year renewal options pending approval from the council and the mayor.
Mayor Ben Walsh, whose administration has pushed to keep Veo e-vehicles in Syracuse, praised the council’s approval of the contract in a statement released Wednesday.
Councilor Corey Williams, who previously expressed concerns that the city’s infrastructure was not conducive to the safe operation of Veo vehicles, said that ensuing conversations between Veo and the city have produced improvements.
“It was not my intention to take the program away, just to make it better,” Williams said. “I think we’re in a place where we have a better agreement with the company, and hopefully the concerns of the community will be addressed.”
Williams said that roughly 25% of Syracuse residents don’t have access to a personal vehicle, making Veo’s e-ride offerings a “really important part of our transportation landscape.”
The new contract features expanded offerings designed for those residents. When Bott presented to the council in the September hearing, he said annual survey data showed that the majority of riders used Veo vehicles to get to work, school, and appointments.
The new contract will introduce a frequent rider payment option, called the Veo Commuter Membership, offering “deep discounts to frequent riders,” according to Veo spokesperson Paige Miller.
The city is also working with Veo to create a program to offer up to 20% discounts for riders in low-income areas of the city. According to Miller and Williams, the city will identify those areas and provide the designations to Veo.
Miller praised the collaboration that produced the updates to this contract.
“Our local team has worked closely with council members to refine and improve the program,” Miller said, “ensuring that shared scooters and bikes continue to provide a crucial transportation option for Syracuse residents, workers, and visitors for years to come.”
The city and Veo are also planning to create a “mobility advisory group” to encourage eligible city residents to take advantage of the discounts.
The contract includes financial incentives for the city, too.
Excluding rides in the discounted program, $0.15 from each Veo ride will go to the city of Syracuse, which Veo and the city estimate will amount to roughly $75,000 a year. The contract calls on the city to use that revenue to improve safety conditions and expand bicycle infrastructure for e-vehicle riders in Syracuse.
The city’s previous contract with the city allowed Veo to proliferate its devices throughout the city based on demand – more riders meant Veo would bring more e-scooters and e-bikes into the city.
Councilor Amir Gethers, who sponsored the contract renewal, said that the new contract also capped off the limit of Veo devices in the city at 1,350. Councilors had previously expressed concerns from residents that the Veo e-vehicles were cluttering streets and walkways.
“They can’t just keep dropping more scooters,” Gethers said.
At the September meeting, councilor Marty Nave was the only voice on the council to fully oppose renewing the contract with Veo, citing fatal incidents such as the collision with a cop car that claimed Veo user Qian Adams’ life in Dec. 2023.
After the meeting, Nave said that he had originally planned to once again vote against the contract renewal. He said he changed his vote following private conversations with Paul Colabufo, Veo operations manager for Syracuse, and was reassured after seeing Veo’s plans to address his safety concerns.
Nave praised the company’s commitments to improve safety and reduce obstruction of pathways.
The councilor reiterated, though, that the contract requires reapproval from the council each year, and that his continued support is not guaranteed.
“We’re gonna hold them to it,” Nave said.
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