Curious Iowa: What role do e-bikes and e-scooters play in microtransportation in Cedar Rapids?

CEDAR RAPIDS — As summer weather is starting to arrive, the city of Cedar Rapids has brought back rental electric bikes and scooters to downtown streets for the seventh year in a row.

The Cedar Rapids program started in 2019 with an agreement between the city and Veo, a Chicago-based vendor that operates the bike and scooter rental program. The usage of the rentals has grown each year since.

Riders use the Veo smartphone app to locate a ride and unlock it by scanning a QR code. Rider pay a fee to unlock the scooter or bike, then are charged a per-minute rate until the ride ends.

But how popular is the program among Cedar Rapids citizens? What changes have been made in the program since it started, and what successes and challenges has it seen? That’s what one reader wondered when asking Curious Iowa, a series from The Gazette that answers questions about the state, its culture and its people.

How popular are e-scooters and bikes?

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This spring has had the highest ridership numbers so far for the Veo scooters and bikes, which were brought back this season on April 1. According to Celeste Brown, Veo’s policy and partnerships manager, there have been 18,400 rides as of May 1, a 26 percent increase.

“I think we’re seeing a positive impact on residents’ quality of life. We had 64 percent of our riders agree that shared scooters help them be more independent, and 52 percent of our riders say Veo helps them feel safer while traveling at night. A lot of what we’re seeing is largely positive,” Brown said.

Veo does an annual survey of riders, and Brown said that while many riders use the scooters for recreation, there are a significant number of people using them for necessary transportation. Brown said 25 percent of rides end at work or school, and 33 percent of users don’t have a driver’s license.

“Some people may see it as a thing that people are using for tourism, or are using for fun, but it really is connecting folks to things they need, too. It’s for both work and play,” Brown said.

What changes has the city made?

The city and Veo have implemented a number of changes over the years as concerns have arisen about aspects of the e-scooter program, including safety issues with scooters being used on sidewalks or not being parked or used in safe ways.

When the program initially was launched, anyone could rent the scooters. But now, users must be 18 or older. When signing up for an account on the Veo app, users must submit a valid ID.

“People over 18 are more likely to know the rules of the road and ride responsibly,” Betsy Borchardt, a Cedar Rapids city planner, said.

The e-scooters aren’t allowed to be used on sidewalks in the downtown area, and the company implemented a feature starting in 2022 to help enforce this rule. The scooters can detect when they are being used on a sidewalk and give a verbal command to move.

The city has also worked with Veo to ensure the vehicles aren’t sitting idle outside of popular usage areas. Starting this year, the city mapped out a core area for usage — which includes downtown, the MedQ District, the College District near Coe College and Mount Mercy University, New Bohemia and Czech Village — where the vehicles are allowed to sit idle for multiple days. Any scooters or bikes left in other areas must be retrieved by Veo employees within 72 hours and brought back into the core area.

At any given time, there are about 500 Veo vehicles deployed in Cedar Rapids, according to Brown.

Starting in 2023, the city and Veo implemented a system to encourage riders to park scooters correctly so they aren’t left in places where they could be a hazard to pedestrians or cars.

“Vehicles found parked incorrectly, such as blocking ADA access points, or obstructing thoroughfares, receive a warning or citation. If a rider’s last end of ride photo confirms incorrect parking, the rider will receive a message with details of how they incorrectly parked,” Borchardt said. “Riders would then receive one more warning, followed by a $5 fine, then $10 fine, if they continue to park incorrectly. The fourth violation will result in a temporary suspension of their account until the rider passes a mandatory quiz on proper parking. If they receive a fifth violation they're banned from the program.”

What is in store for the e-scooter program?

Currently the system of warnings and citations for incorrect parking is based on reports. All Veo riders are required to submit a photo of where they parked their scooter at the end of the ride, but the photos are reviewed only if a scooter is reported as being improperly parked.

Veo is working to improve the parking compliance program by training an artificial intelligence tool to look through end of ride photos and identify misplaced vehicles, forcing riders to continue paying for their ride until the scooter is properly parked. According to Borchardt, Cedar Rapids is hoping to receive this technology as part of their partnership with Veo in the near future.

High school students in the Iowa BIG program also have been working to create a video that will demonstrate how to park the vehicles properly. It should be launched by the end of the school year, according to Borchardt.

Brown said Veo is constantly working with the city to make adjustments to things like parking areas and geofencing for the scooters, and she hopes to be able to continue the partnership for many years.

“The city has been phenomenal partners … We have a check-in with the city every month to adjust and assess to make sure that the program is best serving residents,” Brown said. “We’re very responsive to feedback and aim to consistently be good partners and be good neighbors. We’re working to serve community needs and be an added part, versus a nuisance.”

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Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com