Sarasota County, Florida
Sarasota marked another mobility milestone this week as the e-scooter/bicycle sharing program hit the one year mark. And what a year it was!
To date, almost 150,000 rides have been taken on an e-scooter or bicycle and our service provider, Veo, is reporting record rentals in Sarasota.
Residents are using them to run errands and take short trips around town and visitors are enjoying them on St. Armands Circle, Lido Key and downtown. Bottom line: these micro-mobility options are a popular, convenient and cost effective option for first-mile, last mile trips – and are helping to take cars off the roads, as envisioned when the City Commission approved the program last year.
To meet the service demand, the Veo fleet was increased from 400 to 550 with expansion around the city. We appreciate Veo being a good partner and ensuring vehicles are collected in a timely manner when necessary and continuing to provide enhanced rider education. To rent a vehicle through the Veo app, a rider must be 18 years old with a valid driver’s license and acknowledge they have read Veo’s safety guidelines prior to the vehicle unlocking for use.
Mobility options like these were included in Sarasota in Motion, our citywide transportation master plan, adopted in 2019 following broad community input. When the City’s trolley and micro-mobility programs launched last year, public interest did not wane — it increased. We’re pleased to report combined ridership for Veo and the Bay Runner for the first year was over 300,000!
Congratulations to all who are doing their part to lower the traffic volume and going green with a bicycle or e-scooter ride. We look forward to seeing what the next year brings!
For more information about Veo visit VeoRide.com