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Central New Yorkers Earn Refunds on Bikes, Scooters Electric Scooters and Bikes Give Back to Syracuse Residents

By Emmalee Faith

ANCHOR: This weekend people can earn money by parking their electric scooters and bikes at Perseverance Park in Downtown Syracuse.
N-C-C News Reporter Emmalee Faith tells us how designated parking areas for electric rides benefit the city beyond individual incentives.

EMMALEE FAITH: People can earn three dollars credit toward their next ride by dropping their electric scooters and bikes off at Perseverance Park. Syracuse Sync and VeoRide partnered with Wildflowers Armory to create this ¨Lucky Zone¨ for riders.
Wildflowers Co-owner Michael Heagerty says convenience of parking is key to convenience of travel.

MICHAEL HEAGERTY: They can be pretty helpful. So I imagine people who are so used to different services; Uber, Lyft, bus rides, trollys etc. like sometimes, just for the pure convenience of it, hopping on one of these things and getting there without- no lines no waiting.

EMMALEE FAITH: Operations Manager of VeoRide Paul Colabufo says the shareable ride program prioritizes safety and hopes to have more “lucky zones” in the future.
Colabufo says riders at a minimum need to lock their ride to something sturdy and safe. However, designated hubs that give money back incentivize people to park their scooters in a way that maintain the integrity of city streets.

PAUL COLABUFO: We don’t need everything to be in a hub, as long as it’s locked to something and kept nice and neat. It cant be in the street, it cant be in the street. It cant be blocking the sidewalk, blocking a wheelchair ramp.

EMMALEE FAITH: Colabufo says when people damage scooters or leave them in streets they will be charged a violation fee.
He says respecting the rides and the city is vital because it allows for potentially more bike lanes and parking hubs to be built into the city in the future.

EMMALEE FAITH: As temperatures drop this season and even on a rainy day like today in Syracuse, Colabufo says Veo averages 300 rides a day. However, those riders need to remember to lock up to avoid violation fees. In Syracuse, I’m Emmalee Faith, N-C-C News.

ANCHOR: The city of Syracuse meets with Colabufo every two weeks to track shareable ride data to improve city mobility, traffic and transportation.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – People can earn a $3 credit toward their next ride by dropping their electric scooters and bikes off at Perseverance Park this weekend. Syracuse Sync and VeoRide, two shared micro mobility companies, partnered with Wildflowers Armory, a mercantile downtown, to create this ¨Lucky Zone¨ for riders.

Wildflowers co-owner Michael Heagerty said convenience of parking is key to convenience of travel.

“They can be pretty helpful,” Heagerty said. “So I imagine people who are so used to different services, Uber, Lyft, bus rides, trolleys etc., like sometimes, just for the pure convenience of it, hopping on one of these things and getting there without,  no lines no waiting.”

The electric bikes and scooters can be an alternative way for transportation around the city in daily commute or as a fun way to sightsee.

“You could easily just tour around on them,” Heagerty said.

Paul Colabufo, Operations Manager of VeoRide, said the shareable ride program prioritizes safety and hopes to have more “lucky zones” in the future.

Colabufo said riders at a minimum need to lock their ride to something sturdy and safe. However, designated hubs that give money back incentivize people to park their scooters in a way that maintain the integrity of city streets.

“We don’t need everything to be in a hub, as long as it’s locked to something and kept nice and neat,” Calabufo said.  “It can’t be in the street, it can’t be in the street. It can’t be blocking the sidewalk, blocking a wheelchair ramp.”

Colabufo said when people damage scooters or leave them in streets they will be charged a $5 violation fee.

He said respecting the rides and the city is vital because it paves the way for potentially more bike lanes and parking hubs to be built into the city in the future.

Colabufo said he meets with the city of Syracuse once every couple of weeks so the city can use VeoRide data to track transportation trends of electric scooters and bikes.

Colabufo said VeoRide is averaging 300 rides a day as of lately, but there are more in warmer months.

 

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