At his weekly press conference, Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves reminded the media that the city’s contract for the VEO Scooters ends today. The mayor did meet with VEO’s senior leadership and said, “You guys, the current form isn’t working for us.” However, he left the door open for VEO to return with an alternative at a future date.
He explained to reporters, “It’s not a personal thing with VEO. It’s about whether we were to look into bringing back some type of multimodal amenity—I’m certainly for that, whether that was with VEO or with someone else, but we know it’s time to retire this version. Then we can see if there’s something better in the work.”
What’s Acceptable?
The mayor shared some of the ideas discussed internally at City Hall. “There’s been conversations around bicycles, which would likely need a subsidy, or even if it was going to be something that was motorized, maybe more bicycle than scooter.”
Reeves added, “We’re not in a big rush on that, but we are working ahead and seeing if there is some type of 2.0 multimodal experience that would be something good for the city and be able to work more harmoniously.”
Why Drop VEO Scooters?
In late August, Mayor D.C. Reeves announced Pensacola would terminate its contract with VEO scooters effective November 1, citing resident survey data showing a clear majority of concerns about the program’s value to the community.
Speaking at his weekly press conference on August 26, Reeves explained that while VEO had conducted its own customer survey, it represented “a very, very small sample size” that didn’t capture the full picture.
- “I was elected by the residents of this city,” Reeves emphasized. “We wanted it to be a great place for visitors where they have fun, but our residents’ opinion matters on this program as well.”
When asked what they would prefer the city do when the contract expires this fall, 616 survey respondents replied:
- Remove the scooters: 51.45%
- Renew the contract: 31.45%
- Unsure: $16.86
Veo mounted a campaign to extend its Pensacola scooter contract beyond the November 1st termination date, arguing that city survey data failed to capture the voice of actual riders who depend on the service.
- “We have heard from so far since our campaign over 750 riders since we launched it less than 24 hours ago,” said Celeste Brown, Veo’s policy and partnerships manager, during a podcast interview. “We’re hearing from folks that are using our vehicles to get to and from work to get around downtown, disabled veterans that are utilizing it as a means of transportation.”
Mayor Reeves said the time to negotiate had passed. “While I applaud their ability to go engage the community and listen to the community, I just failed to understand why that started after those efforts only when we’ve said we aren’t going to renew.”
