Board advances no-cost scooter-share contract with Veo after hour-long workshop and questions about safety

The City Services and Environmental Policy Committee of New Haven’s Board of Alders moved a no-cost multi-year contract with scooter operator Veo out of committee on April 3, 2025, after a public presentation by Veo representatives and extended questioning from aldermen and city staff.

Committee members said they still want more data and operational details before the full board votes. The committee approved an amendment substituting the draft memorandum of understanding with the city’s standard contract language and then voted to move the item to the full Board of Alders.

The committee heard from Veo representatives and city staff for roughly two hours. Jeffrey Hoover, who identified himself as a company representative, described Veo’s operations and safety features, including geofencing and in‑app parking enforcement. “99.99% of our trips ended without any reported safety incident to us,” Hoover said, citing Veo’s national trip reporting.

City staff described the procurement process run through the Capital Region Council of Governments, which selected Veo after a competitive review. Steven Winter, introduced at the meeting as “executive director of climate sustainability,” and city transportation staff said the chosen arrangement is structured as a contract between the city and Veo coupled with a letter agreement to the regional procurement. “This is a no cost agreement for this thing,” a city staff member told the committee, referring to the operator fee and the city’s plan to provide only administrative support and site vetting.

Under the plan presented, Veo would deploy an initial fleet of about 250 scooters within a limited downtown service area; riders would be required to park in geofenced “corrals” or designated parking locations rather than leaving devices anywhere. The company described income‑based discounts (for example, a $5 monthly plan for SNAP recipients with daily 30‑minute rides) and automatic speed reductions or soft stops when scooters enter “no‑ride” or “slow‑ride” geofenced areas.

Aldermen and staff pressed Veo on safety, enforcement and operations. Questions included how geofencing distinguishes sidewalks from roadways, how the vendor handles tipped or vandalized scooters, whether the vendor will hire locally and how many full‑time equivalents would staff operations. Hoover said Veo has leased local warehouse space, planned local hiring for charging and maintenance, and that vehicles report upright/tipped status and are remotely controllable. He added that seated scooters (which state law currently limits by weight) have a lower reported incident rate and could be deployed if Connecticut adjusts vehicle definitions.

Committee members requested more evidence from Hartford, which launched a similar program last year, and other markets where Veo operates. Several aldermen asked staff to return with crash, complaint and ridership data from Hartford and from other comparable university‑adjacent cities before the full board vote. Aldermen also asked that the initial deployment avoid placing corrals near high schools; committee members asked staff to exclude high school locations from the pilot rollout.

Formal committee action: aldermen approved an amendment substituting the MOU with the city standard contract and voted to move the amended item to the full board for consideration. The committee’s vote was recorded as in favor; a detailed roll‑call tally was not entered into the meeting transcript.

What happens next: committee members said they expect city staff and Veo to supply additional documentation, including Hartford operational data, the vendor’s local staffing plan, details on local hiring, the vendor’s incident reporting process, and example app screens that instruct riders on rules of the road. The full Board of Alders will consider the contract in a future meeting.

The workshop and the Veo presentation concluded with staff and aldermen agreeing to monitor pilot performance closely and to reserve the right to terminate the agreement if operational or safety concerns arise.