NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The City of New Rochelle and micro mobility innovation company VeoRide announced today the soft launch of a new shared mobility system of e-scooters and bikes throughout New Rochelle’s neighborhoods, including its historic Downtown. Beginning Friday, Veo will begin to phase in 200 Astro e-scooters and 30 bikes at strategic locations around the City over the next week. Veo was selected as the City’s new operator in late 2019 before the pandemic delayed its launch.
Riders can simply download the Veo app on their smartphone and scan the QR code on the equipment to unlock the bike or e-scooter. At the end of the ride, a second scan of the QR code locks the equipment. Riders must be a minimum of 16-years-old to use the service.
The system comes at no cost to the City and bikes are $1 to unlock and five cents per minute. Scooters are also $1 to unlock and 39 cents per minute. Both bikes and scooters are geo-fenced to ensure usage is within the New Rochelle service area. While parking is recommended at public bike racks, equipment may be left on the sidewalk or in public spaces as long as it does not obstruct the pedestrian right-of-way.
“Smart, sustainable, and affordable transportation options are important to New Rochelle’s future,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “We hope locals and visitors alike will utilize these micro mobility assets to explore our community, access services, enjoy our growing cultural scene, eat at one of our restaurants, shop at one of our many small businesses, or just have fun.”
The launch of the new program comes as the City of New Rochelle continues its commitment to innovation as part of the City’s historic downtown redevelopment with over 30 construction projects either completed or in progress across 12 million square feet of prime downtown real estate. In addition to the new shared system, the City of New Rochelle recently completed an expansion of its free on-demand electric shuttle service Circuit NR, which doubled the size and geographical area of the operation to service even more passengers.
New Rochelle also expands Veo’s footprint in the Northeast, where it was recently awarded a contract to participate in a shared e-scooter pilot across the East Bronx in New York City. Other cities Veo currently serves include Atlanta, Chicago, Oakland, St. Petersburg and more.
“Veo is honored to be selected as the City of New Rochelle’s newest partner to deploy sustainable and innovative transportation options across the City,” said Veo CEO Candice Xie. “By simply downloading an app and signing up for the Veo service, New Rochelle residents will unlock a new world of transportation options that save time, save our planet and bring joy to riders of all ages and abilities.”
The City will work closely with Veo to ensure a smooth roll-out of the system and to ensure they are used and parked in a safe and responsible way with the possibility of expanding the system in the future.