After vendor shakeup, micromobility use dips
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Veo found a breakout star in its seated scooters. Photo: Andrew King/Axios
A year after launching new bike and scooter share partnerships, Columbus is seeing a decrease in riders as the city continues to try to rid sidewalks of obstructive and annoying devices.
Why it matters: Deals with Veo and Spin shifted the city's micromobility paradigm by limiting the number of companies operating scooters, bringing in revenue and formalizing standards and fines.
Catch up quick: Before December 2024, the Columbus micromobility landscape of electric scooters and bikes was the wild, wild west. A variety of companies operated with little accountability and provided negligible revenue for the city.
- Columbus inked an exclusive deal with Veo, but a lawsuit from Spin resulted in a deal allowing that company to continue operating through 2025.
- The new deals built in fines and operator rules, and created a revenue sharing agreement.
Driving the news: The Department of Public Service issued a "State of the Program" report this week, documenting the first year of the program and adjustments coming in 2026.
What's inside: The report's takeaways include a continued need to get devices out of the public right-of-way, an assessment of popular devices and a desire to bring more vehicles to "opportunity areas" like the Hilltop or South Columbus.
Case in point: The goal was 30% fleet distribution for these areas, but the report indicated they were often under 10%.
By the numbers: Total trips recorded by the city dropped 19% last year, from over 1 million in 2024 to less than 813,000.
- The city issued around $35,000 in penalties for non-compliance, including improper parking.
- Columbus' 311 line received 941 service requests related to the devices.
Friction point: Those requests highlight the need for improvement in keeping devices off sidewalks and maintaining ADA accessibility, a "top priority" for the city, says mobility and parking division administrator Justin Goodwin.
- "I think that it's fair to say we feel like this is an issue that is getting better, but we also recognize that there is more room to improve," Goodwin tells Axios.
Stunning stat: Veo's seated scooters were a breakout star of the new program; seated devices represented 67% of all Veo trips.
- Just 8% of Spin's trips were with a device other than a stand-up scooter.
- We called it.
What they're saying: Goodwin says the city is optimistic about improvements this season, and has reinforced expectations with the vendors.
- "We continue to value a shared mobility program. We think it's a critical part of our goals to provide more mobility options, and we're really focused on safety for all roadway users."