Carbondale staff and Veo outline AI tools and enforcement changes for e‑scooter program

Carbondale city planners, Southern Illinois University officials and Veo, the company that operates the city’s e‑scooter fleet, presented a three‑year program review and proposed contract updates that would add AI parking enforcement, tip‑over detection and year‑round operation.

The presentation to the Carbondale City Council on the micromobility program included usage data, an accessibility update and planned technology changes. City senior planner Molly Maxwell said the contract between Veo and the city automatically renewed on June 23, 2025, and that a memorandum of understanding had extended operation to November 2025 while staff seek changes to the program.

City officials said the scooters have filled a transportation gap between bus routes and walking distances and remain heavily used around Southern Illinois University (SIU) and downtown. Maxwell reported that, from May 2024 to May 2025, Veo recorded roughly 7,258 unique customers, about 139,444 rides, a median trip length of 1.2 miles and more than 226,000 miles ridden. The city and SIU each receive $0.10 per trip; the city uses its share to fund micromobility safety elements such as bike racks and bike repair stations.

Tina Bennett, assistant vice chancellor for auxiliary enterprises and student affairs at Southern Illinois University, told the council the university supports continuing the service, saying the scooters help students reach classes, jobs and downtown businesses. “Their continued use reflects how well they've been embraced by our community as a whole,” Bennett said.

Aaron Madrid, Veo policy and partnerships manager, described two AI features the company will pilot: automated review of end‑ride photos to confirm a device is parked in an approved location (preventing the ride from ending until a proper photo is taken) and automated detection of tipped devices that would alert local operations immediately. Madrid said the goal is to implement the geofencing and map infrastructure for the parking check before students return in the fall, outlining a tentative August target.

Council members and residents raised operational and equity questions. Council member Colombo asked whether the AI tip‑over data could also be used to capture crash information; Madrid said the system already collects some collision‑type sensor data and that Veo could provide counts to the city. Council member Lowes and others asked about how often Veo’s operations team patrols and how quickly reported problems are addressed; Madrid said the local operations team runs continuously but response times vary and are often a matter of hours unless the problem is reported immediately and moved to the top of the work queue.

Several residents asked about underage riders and enforcement. Madrid said account setup requires proof of a driver’s license; he acknowledged that providing another person’s license or payment method could allow an underage person to ride. He said Veo does not currently enforce a selfie‑to‑ID match. Veo and city staff also noted existing complaint/reporting channels including the Veo app, the phone number on devices, hello@veoride.com and SeeClickFix reports to the city. Veo said fines for improper parking were raised: first violation is a warning, second is $10, third is $15 and a fourth violation can result in loss of access to the service; fine revenue goes to Veo.

City staff described enforcement steps the city has taken or will take: a new city parking attendant is reporting misparked scooters during rounds; nine dedicated parking hubs have been installed; Veo is using in‑app reminders and stickers on devices; the city said it will develop an impound policy and that reclaiming impounded scooters will carry a fee. Staff said the city plans to update the operating agreement to require Veo to help develop outreach materials and to operate the fleet year‑round.

Public commenters offered mixed perspectives. SIU student Audrey Gulley said scooters are “affordable, accessible and fun” and cited benefits for students without cars. Resident Yolanda Dean asked whether the city could publish accident counts; Lee Frohnenbarger pressed about funding use for micromobility safety elements and whether fines are remitted to the city (staff said fines go to Veo). Resident Justin Zirlindon urged the council to preserve the program and, if funds run out, to find additional budget to support conversion grants and housing goals referenced later in the agenda.

No formal council vote on the scooter contract changes was recorded during the meeting; staff said they are proposing amendments to the agreement and a memorandum of understanding is in place through November 2025 while those changes are negotiated.

The council said it expects to see proposed contract amendments and additional reporting on enforcement outcomes and crash/incident counts in follow‑up staff reports.