Rochester embraces e-bikes and scooters for sustainable transit

Yahoo

12-03-2025

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – According to recent reports, 50% of people don't have access to a car and 42% of people don't even have a driver's license. That's why city leadership says these electric bikes and scooters are so important to the city of Rochester.
'Ridership has been really, really strong in Rochester. And one of the things that we're looking to do is find ways to engage directly with the community and with riders, not only to encourage good riding behavior,' said Joe Mott, senior policy and partnership manager with VEO. 'Give them a chance to, you know, pop out the vehicles, touch them, talk to us about them, and answer any questions that they have to just kind of encourage, you know, people to understand the different use cases and how they can incorporate shared mobility into their daily lives if they're not already.'
As the weather warms up, VEO is taking advantage of the spring conditions to expand their fleet. The partnership with the city ensures that the streets are ready for the increased number of shared mobility vehicles, allowing riders to enjoy smoother and more reliable service.
'We started launching over the weekend, this past weekend. And you know, what we do is we work in collaboration with the city, you know, to, you know, sort of monitor the forecast and make sure that, you know, things are looking good from the right of way being clear and ready to go. And the weather looks good, kind of for the extendable future. And then we build our way up from there. So they started this weekend, and you'll see an increase to the fleet, you know, over the course of the coming weeks as we build up into the spring,' Mott said.
Although spring is just around the corner, Western New Yorkers know that winter-like weather can still make an unexpected return. That's why Mott highlights the crucial partnership with the city of Rochester, ensuring that decisions are made with the city's best interest in mind, especially during inclement weather.
'We also have the ability for lots of your events to kind of move them to specific locations or even disable them if we don't think that riding would be good. But we also know that, you know, you know, Western New Yorkers are, they're, they're tough. And they'll get out there even when it's cold. You know, we'll still ride as long as it's dry. So, yeah, we work in close collaboration with the city in terms of making those decisions. But, you know, we'll always be careful to make sure we do what's best for the city and for our riders,' said Mott.
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