The City of Columbus' Department of Public Service released its State of the Program report on shared mobility Thursday.
The Columbus region is expected to grow by another 1 million people by 2050, the report states, and the city’s transportation system cannot safely manage another 1 million cars. Offering shared mobility services ensures an “accessible, affordable, healthy and sustainable option, including for shorter trips and first/last mile trips connection,” according to the report.
In 2024, Columbus released a request for proposals to select a preferred vendor to offer shared mobility services within the city and region with the goals of financial sustainability, strategies for cost-effective expansion to improve equitable access and strategies to manage operational challenges.
The city chose mobility device company Veo, but also included Spin, another mobility device company, after Spin filed suit in December in the U.S. District Court alleging that Columbus did not follow its own evaluation criteria in selecting Veo as its preferred vendor and offered the company a contract. Spin’s ability to operate in the city is part of a negotiated settlement agreement.
Report Overview
Since spring 2025, the city has sustained “substantially” identical contracts with Veo and Spin, according to the report.
In 2025, more than 810,000 trips were taken using Veo and Spin shared mobility devices, with data showing devices being used at an average rate of around one trip per day per device. Most trips occurred in the University, Downtown, Victorian Village, Harrison West and Short North districts. Veo and Spin offer seated scooters, stand-up scooters, pedal bikes and pedal assist e-bikes.
In comparison, 2024 saw 1,002,905 trips taken using Bird, Lime and Spin scooters and CoGo, the city’s previously used traditional docked bikeshare system.
To make sure that Veo and Spin are keeping up with the city’s established standards, the report outlines a section for performance assessment backed by “Service Level Agreements" focused on five performance area categories: intuitive and organized parking, safety, expansion and coverage, transit integration and planning and reporting.
Field audits are completed by Mobility and Parking Services to count “total devices staged for rider access, and tipped and improperly parked devices creating ADA violations often reported by residents to 311,” according to the report. Of 826 Veo devices and 697 Spin devices counted during staff audits, 55 parked Veo devices and 49 parked Spin devices exhibited ADA violations.
Mobility and Parking Services completes a monthly assessment to evaluate a pass/fail performance rating, with penalties for noncompliance resulting in fines ranging from $500 to $1,000. A repeated lack of compliance can result in multiple penalties being assessed. Each agreement has thresholds, a measurement tool and associated penalty.
Until October, both Veo and Spin consistently underperformed in distribution to the city’s defined opportunity areas of the Hilltop, Franklinton, South Columbus, Near East Side and Linden. Continued underperformance can result in significant fines.
Winter Blues
Additionally, the city encountered an issue with Veo’s winter deployment.
Debbie Briner, public relations specialist for the Department of Public Service, said in an email that Veo went to zero devices deployed in Columbus from Dec. 27 to Feb. 16. She said the Division of Mobility and Parking services was aware of Veo’s decision shortly before it was executed.
“We understand that ridership does drop temporarily in the coldest winter months,” Briner said in an email. “However, we are actively discussing with Veo in monthly performance reviews the city’s desire for residents to have access to devices throughout the year, and to establish clear expectations moving forward. There are residents who rely on these shared mobility devices for transportation no matter the season.”
Paige Miller, senior manager of policy and communications at Veo, said in an email that the company paused its Columbus operations during recent record-breaking weather conditions.
“Across the country, it is common for micromobility providers to pause operations when snow, ice, and extreme cold create safety concerns for riders and deter ridership,” Miller said. “Our agreement with the City allows for seasonal adjustments, and we have remained in close communication with the City regarding this pause. We will evaluate winter operations in partnership with the City to determine the most effective strategy for next season.”
Spin also reduced their fleet size in January and February, but not to zero devices deployed.
Each vendor’s fleet is capped at 2,000 devices, with at least 50% required to be seated devices, Briner said.
City Revenue
Through a revenue sharing agreement, the city collects five cents for each trip and an additional vendor fee per device when deployed annually — $90 for stand-up devices and $20 for seated devices.
The jurisdiction where a trip begins earned 3 cents per trip, and the destination jurisdiction received 2 cents per trip.
Briner said $213,960 was invoiced by the city for Q2, Q3 and Q4. Q1 is not accounted for because the program did not launch until late Q1. This amount includes device fees, trip fees, infrastructure contributions and penalties and fines.
