We tried Columbus' new Veo scooter options
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Scooters are scooters — but Veo's sit-down models may change how some Columbus riders get around. Photo: Andrew King/Axios
👋 Andrew here. By now, if you're interested in riding bikes or scooters around town, you've probably done it.
Yes, but: I tried the city's new option to see if it's any different than what we know.
Context: New Columbus mobility partner Veo launched March 14, and saw about 3,200 trips its first week in town.
- Four devices are available: The Apollo two-seated e-bike, the Astro e-scooter, the Cosmo sit-down e-scooter and the Halo traditional pedal bike.
What to expect: The Veo app feels and functions exactly like Uber, Lime or anything else in this transit genre.
What I tried: I test rode the Astro and the Cosmo e-scooters.
- There isn't much to say about the Astro. It's a scooter.
- The Cosmo, however, was a pretty different experience as a seated model. It felt quicker and more stable.
What they're saying: Jeff Hoover, Veo director of government partnerships, emphasized the importance of the seated options.
- About half the Veo fleet will be seated devices, which Hoover says are used for rides roughly twice the length of scooters.
- "They are really going to unlock neighborhood-to-neighborhood travel in a way that could previously have been uncomfortable for all but your most experienced and limber scooter riders."
💠My thought bubble: That sounds ambitious … but I can kind of see it.
- When scooting, I typically stick to bike lanes and side streets.
- I'd feel a lot more comfortable riding the seated scooters down High Street.