VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Syracuse Common Council votes to extend contract with Veo
Charlie Goldberg: Central New York residents will be getting access to electronic bikes and scooters for a few more months. It comes after Syracuse lawmakers voted on whether to extend the city’s contract with micromobility company Veo. Live to tell us more about the decision is our reporter Marie Achkar. Marie?
Marie Achkar: Thank you Charlie, thank you Alex. Just yesterday, the city of Syracuse extended its contract with Veo for three more months. Mayor Ben Walsh’s administration asked the council to approve a three year extension after the city’s contract with Veo expired yesterday. But lawmakers said that they have concerns about the company. Common Councilor Amir Gethers told NCC News that the electronic bikes and scooters have raised safety concerns in Central New York. So for now, the contract has only been extended for three more months. The common council hopes Veo will make safety changes during this time. Many people say the vehicles have helped them tremendously. Others agree Veo could do a better job improving safety.
Amir Gethers: “Here with our decision we’re playing the middle ground. So we’re addressing both sides by saying, ‘Okay let’s do a better job of picking them up. Let’s do a better job with the safety. Let’s do a better job of everything else. — all the cons that we’ve been hearing about with Veo.’ We’ve addressed those. And then on the pros, continuing the services that people can use for the next three months.
Andreas Nestoros: “Well, Veo’s really convenient, you know. They’re all over the city. You can just pick up one at any time. The app is really convenient to use. It’s like two button clicks. You’re all set to go.”
Eddie Safdieh: “I mean, I think it’s hard. You know, it’s an online app. It’s hard to enforce things in-person when there’s not like Veo officers going around looking at people.”
Achkar: NCC reached out to Veo and a spokesperson told us that the company quote, “is committed to improving safety, parking compliance, and advancing equity in Syracuse’s shared micromobility program.” The common council will keep an eye on Veo to see if they take care of these safety concerns. Reporting live in Syracuse, Marie Achkar, NCC News
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Syracuse Common Council has voted to extend the city’s contract with Veo for at least three more months during a meeting on Monday. But they’re hoping the company can improve its operations — specifically, making rides safer.
The decision comes after Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh’s administration asked the council to approve a three-year extension since the city’s contract with Veo expired on Monday.
The micromobility company has recorded over 1.1 million rides over the past three years. While Veo has provided electronic bikes and scooters for residents across Central New York, common councilors said there have been issues regarding riders’ safety.
“We want Veo to have a quicker response time with picking up the bikes from all over the city,” said Common Councilor Amir Gethers. “We also want to ensure that the maintenance of their Veo bikes has increased, because we’ve also seen a large number of complaints of the Veo bikes not having the breaks working properly…or the lights are not on at night.”
The Syracuse Common Council said it hopes that Veo will fix these issues within the next three months. But if changes aren’t made, Gethers said there’s a possibility of ending the contract.
“We don’t want to discontinue Veo at all, because they have been doing such a good job,” Gethers said. “Once they have met our requirements, we’ll go into their three-year contract from there.”
Some people in Syracuse said the bikes have helped them get around the area quicker. They also said it’s a cheaper alternative than purchasing an Uber or other rideshare service.
“I’m happy it’s still going to be a thing,” said Andreas Nestoros, a student at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “It’s really fun. With your buddies you’re like, ‘Aw man, we don’t want to walk all this way. Let’s get a Veo!’ And then you hop on and cruise around…it’s really convenient. I like it a lot.”
Others agree Veo needs to make more of an effort to ensure the safety of its riders.
“I do think they should put more warnings and maybe have some sort of system to help people wear helmets or something like that because I do see people getting hurt,” said Eddie Safdieh, also a student at SUNY ESF.
“Veo is committed to improving safety, parking compliance, and advancing equity in Syracuse’s shared micromobility program,” said a spokesperson for Veo. “Veo has expanded staffing and invested in new technology.”
The Syracuse Common Council will readdress the issue at the end of December.