You’re supposed to be 18 years old to rent a scooter or e-bike from Veo, the company that is now operating a fleet of mobility contraptions around Denver.
But if you’re not, they won’t likely notice. For most customers, the app uses the honor system as its sole test of age: Simply tell the app that you’re 18 or older, and you’ll soon be zipping around town.
“Consistent with the City’s previous shared mobility program requirements, riders must be at least 18 years old to use Veo,” Veo spokesperson Alex Keating wrote in an email. “And that requirement is clearly communicated throughout the rider experience, including during account creation, through in-app messaging, on-vehicle regulatory stickers, and in our user agreement.”
We were curious about these policies because we’ve heard anecdotal reports of more teens riding around town. But as we learned, the lack of enforcement is nothing new.
“Age verification has never been required in Denver; we’re not aware of Lime or Lyft ever requiring it,” Nancy Kuhn of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure told Denverite. “Our operators have always had 18 and up requirements in their terms and conditions.”
In recent weeks, we’ve seen kids zip around parks, at rec centers and at schools. They’ve been four deep on a scooter near the District 2 police station or buzzing pedestrians on sidewalks and at parks.
“I love it,” one elementary-school-aged kid told me of the scooter he was riding, just before three kids came screeching to a halt on Veos, slamming into him in front of a rec center. He said he was fine, just shaken.
Some high schools and middle schools are reporting increased scooter chaos outside their buildings.
“As their use has increased among students, we are also seeing more accidents and injuries related to unsafe riding, excessive speed, distracted riding, and not wearing helmets,” East High School nurses wrote to parents in an email.
East High School nurses saw seven scooter-related injuries on one recent day, though they didn’t specify if they were Veo scooters or not. In recent years, battery-powered contraptions have surged in popularity for kids, including high-powered two-wheelers that function more like dirt bikes.
“While many of the injuries were minor, these incidents are a reminder of how quickly serious accidents can happen,” the nurses wrote.
Pedestrian advocate Jill Locantore questions whether 18 is the right age, since 16-year-olds can drive cars. Cars, after all, are far more deadly than scooters. Perhaps they should be scrutinized for greater regulation instead.
Veo maintains its launch has been a success and that underage riding is virtually a non-issue.
Veo customers have taken more than 590,000 rides in Denver. On May 30, the company had its highest ridership day yet: 34,309 trips.
“Against that backdrop, we have received a handful of community reports relating to potential underage riding; however, our review has not identified (a) widespread issue in Denver,” Veo director of communications Paige Miller wrote Denverite in an email.
What is a handful? The company declined to provide a number of complaints related to age verification. Doing so would be too hard. There is no tracking mechanism in place for feedback.
“Since launch, Veo has received hundreds of pieces of feedback across multiple channels, including customer service inquiries, social media comments, feedback forms, and end-of-ride ratings,” Miller wrote. “This feedback spans a wide range of topics and sentiments, making it difficult to categorize simply as complaints, compliments, or suggestions.”
Other companies say they have taken steps to stop underage riders. Lime requires users in some cities to scan government IDs, based on local rules, though that was not a requirement in Denver.
For its part, Veo has taken action to slow riding near schools.
“Veo has already implemented new 4mph slow ride zones around all Denver Public School properties,” Keating wrote. “We are actively working with the City and DPS on parent education and implementing geofencing in areas where additional safeguards may be appropriate.”
Miller says the company has seen “fewer underage riding complaints” since the technology was implemented. But it’s not clear how the company knows that if it doesn’t track such complaints.
Veo maintains it takes underage riding seriously.
“If Veo is notified that a minor is utilizing the service, the account will be suspended immediately,” Keating wrote. “Additionally, 18+ riders are prohibited from transporting minors on any of our devices. Violating these terms is also grounds for account suspension.”
Veo asks people who see underage riding and other unsafe behaviors to email [email protected].
“Veo’s user agreement also prohibits account sharing or allowing anyone under 18 to ride using another person’s account, and Veo will suspend the account of any person found to be sharing their account,” Keating wrote.
The company declined to provide information about how many accounts had been suspended in Denver for this reason or whether any had.
The Denver Police Department has received zero complaints about underage Veo riding, according to a spokesperson.
“We have a very pressing safety problem caused by cars,” added Locantore, the mobility advocate.
Prioritizing scooter safety concerns, she said, is simply misguided.
