6 westword.com WESTWORD APRIL 9-15, 2026 | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | access program offers more fl exibility for riders, but fewer overall minutes. Currently, Lime Access provides three free rides per day, each lasting up to thirty minutes. That means users can’t make two round-trips without pay- ing, even if each trip is only a few minutes long. Veo will offer sixty minutes of free rides per day, with no limit on the number of rides taken; after the sixty minutes, riders will be charged $0.15 per minute, with no unlocking fee. Lime Access used to provide unlimited free rides in Denver, but the company scaled back the program to just three rides per day in April 2025. Much of the debate over the scooter pro- viders has centered on the access program and panicked riders who fear losing an es- sential means of transportation. That fear has infi ltrated Denver City Council, as well. “I’ve been wrestling really hard with the equity program,” Councilmember Sarah Parady said during the April 1 meeting. “I’m just really, really worried that people are not going to fi nd their way back into the program for a whole variety of reasons. I think Veo has done what can be done on their end; it’s just because of not having an overlap.” Paying Lip Service to Safety City offi cials have long raised red fl ags about Lime and Bird’s operations in Denver. Denver prohibits riding scooters on side- walks, riding with multiple passengers and parking scooters in ways that block side- walks or streets, but all of those behaviors can be observed daily in the city. Despite this, Denver police issued only nine citations for improper scooter use between 2018 and 2024, compared with the over 18.3 million e-scooter trips taken in that time frame. That has led offi cials to look to the companies to enforce proper behavior among their riders. “There’s little or no policing of careless and dangerous scooter rider behavior and improper scooter parking,” said David Kurth of the Upper Downtown Neighborhood Association during the March 18 committee. Kurth expressed frustration over “the lip service that the current providers — especially Lime — have given to the safety of pedestrians in the downtown area.” Reckless behavior by riders has dire con- sequences. Fifteen people have died while riding scooters in Denver since 2018, with over half of those deaths occurring just last year. Denver Health registered 1,868 patient encounters attributed to scooter injuries in 2025 — more than fi ve patient encounters each day of the year. And Denver police received 199 reports of scooter-vehicle crashes in 2025. City council pushed to improve the safety and organization of scooters last May, passing an ordinance requiring mandatory scooter parking zones in certain neighbor- hoods, technology that detects when users ride on sidewalks, and compliance tests that riders must pass before being able to rent the vehicles. The ordinance takes effect on July 1. Veo was partially chosen because of its ability to comply with these new regulations, according to DOTI. Denver offi cials have said their primary considerations during the scooter vendor procurement process included the companies’ safety features, equity programs, pricing and systems for parking and tidiness. Veo scooters are fi tted with technology to detect unlawful behavior, such as riding on sidewalks or riding with multiple people on board, and the vehicle emits a voice warn- ing if a rider does something wrong. Each vehicle has a QR code that reads “How’s my parking?”, which passersby can use to report improperly parked vehicles. Veo also offers a variety of vehicles with seats and larger wheels than those on standard standing scooters, improving stability for riders. The third scooter provider in the mix, Bird, questions why it was not selected, ac- cusing DOTI of being non-transparent with how it scored operators. “We see some of the things that we put, in terms of benefi ts, into our proposal as more competitive compared to the operator that was chosen,” says Jimmy Gilman, Bird’s director of partnerships and policy. “We’re a bit confused and, really, just curious about how the scoring happened. We really think that should be a priority for all folks to make sure that the public benefi t is maximized.” Veo’s proposal will charge users less to ride than Bird and Lime currently charge, and provide a wide range of micromobility devices that the other companies do not offer, including dual-passenger and cargo-carrying options. Bird claims that its proposal submit- ted to the city offered lower prices, in addition to more job creation, equity access, helmet distribution and parking corral installation. “This decision was not made lightly,” DOTI’s McWhorter told the council com- mittee. “Veo demonstrated the strongest responses and proposals to continue building out a safe, affordable, equitable and acces- sible shared bike and scooter program. They really showed up for Denver in this process.” Some city councilmembers have cel- ebrated DOTI’s decision to go with a new scooter provider. During the April 1 meeting, Councilmember Paul Kashmann said that he would not support a contract that included either Lime or Bird. “If it had been the previous vendors, I’d be a hard ‘no’ on this from the beginning. They have done nothing in my district other than leave vehicles blocking the sidewalks and in the streets,” Kashmann said. “This is the responsi- bility of the industry. They can’t keep raking in dollars nationwide and put out lousy vehicles, and make little to no real effort to keep their vehicles where it’s safe for them to be ridden.” Two More Weeks Less than one month before Veo is sched- uled to begin operations in Denver, the con- tract has yet to pass its fi rst city council vote. The Transportation & Infrastructure Committee again delayed consideration of Veo’s proposed contract agreement on April 1, two weeks after the last postponement. While some councilmembers picked sides in the scooter skirmish, most blamed the stall on DOTI, adding intragovernmental friction to the already strained proceedings. During the March 18 meeting, DOTI failed to provide councilmembers with the fi nal contract proposal that they were being asked to vote on. The contract was ready on April 1, but DOTI had made a last-minute change the evening before, again frustrating councilmembers. The amendment removed a provision that would have let Veo charge access riders a monthly fee under certain conditions, following backlash after 9News reported on the potential fee. (Veo called the provision a safeguard, claiming it did not intend to ever charge access riders.) “I’m not going to trust that you just told me that you cut out a provision,” Council President Amanda Sandoval said on April 1. “I’m sup- posed to have the capacity to have read that last night? You sent it to me at 5:54 at night, and I have a committee meeting this morning.” Councilmember Chris Hinds, a leading pro- ponent for scooter reforms, said the repeated postponement of the contract is not “necessar- ily because people have concerns about Veo or whether [the contract is] ready for the fl oor. I think that we want to make sure that our work is checked and that we can trust but verify.” Councilmember Kevin Flynn offered a motion to advance Veo’s contract to the full council, but no other member seconded the motion, so the committee could not even hold a vote. The committee instead unani- mously voted to postpone consideration of the contract to April 15. The extra time has enabled all of the scooter companies to amplify their campaigns. “I would hate for what is a uniquely special program in this ecosystem to be lost,” Williams with Lime says of the Lime Access program. “We are wholly and deeply committed to mak- ing sure that access riders are cared for and we are ready and willing to work. ...We’re just hopeful that the pressure stays on.” During the March 18 meeting, the confer- ence room audience was packed with attendees in neon green T-shirts, signaling their support for Lime. For the next meeting on April 1, Veo apparently arrived early, fi lling the room with dozens of people in black Veo T-shirts, while those sporting Lime and Bird merch were rel- egated to an overfl ow room upstairs. Organiz- ers with Lime paced the crowd of around sixty people, handing out free shirts and handwritten signs to anyone who wanted them. “Frankly, ever since Bird and Lime began dropping scooters on city streets without permits in 2018, scooters and bikes have been a focal point for drama in cities,” Veo’s Keating says. “It’s a sad reality for the indus- try that that’s a common outcome here, that these become lightning rod issues. ...I’m very confi dent that this will get worked through and that it’s an open and transparent process.” The overfl ow room of Lime and Bird supporters exploded with applause at the result of the council’s second postponement. “We’re at least safe for two more weeks,” one man shouted as he walked out of the room. Email the author at hannah.metzger@westword. com. Denver Health registered more than fi ve patient encounters per day attributed to scooter injuries in 2025. JR GOODWIN/DRCOG Lime and Bird’s contracts to operate in Denver expire on May 16. News continued from page 4 HANNAH METZGER
