Opinion: Limited Access to Shared Mobility Is a Mistake

A few days before Christmas, the city’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure made an announcement that directly impacts the way Denver residents and visitors get around on a daily basis.

In a first-of-its-kind decision for a major city the size of Denver, DOTI decided to award an exclusive contract award to Veo, a small, shared mobility company with no experience in Colorado that provides e-bikes and e-scooters for short-term rental. If this decision stands, the contract will effectively grant Veo a monopoly over all shared mobility options in the city, replacing Bird and Lime, which have operated here for the last several years.

Why did DOTI make this unexpected move to go solo with Veo when, by its own account, it has one of the most successful and equitable programs in the world?

It is difficult to understand such a drastic departure from a program where nearly 2 million or one-third of total trips each year (6 million total trips) are provided free of charge to low-income residents. Why would DOTI put this at risk by kicking out the two established companies that have helped make this success possible?

According to a press release recently posted on the DOTI website, the transportation agency says a “single operator simplifies the rider and non-rider experience by allowing for a single account and app to use any scooter or bike. It also streamlines program administration for the city….”

Unfortunately, the reality is very different.

There is a good reason why no other major city in the United States with over 700,000 residents – like Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Seattle or Washington, D.C. – has ever gone down this road and awarded a contract to a single shared mobility operator. It limits healthy competition, reduces consumer choice and options (e.g. different vehicle models for bikes and scooters), and makes the city fully dependent on one company without a way to compare performance across vendors. Monopolies are generally bad, after all.

It’s also an illusion to think a single operator or app will suddenly make things easier for riders. What actually makes things easy for riders is being able to quickly access or rent a scooter or bike without having to download yet another new app on their phones. The current operators both have a significant user base with riders who use the service through their own apps, but who also take advantage of popular integrations with Lyft and Uber.

Perhaps most concerning is how thousands of riders enrolled in free access programs will be impacted by this decision. DOTI says that “Lime and Bird Access users will be transferred over to Veo Access,” but that vague promise blatantly ignores consumer privacy laws that purposefully prevent the sharing of personal financial information without consent. I know I wouldn’t want my personal financial information shared with a company I’ve never heard of without permission.

Similarly of concern is the way in which this decision will impact the network of local partnerships that exist between current operators and community organizations.

Denver is a city that expects private companies to deliver significant community benefits as a condition of doing business in the city — an expectation that has been met and even exceeded by the current operators. Bird, for example, has established partnerships with the Colorado Black Round Table, Servicios de la Raza, Metro State University, all local transportation management associations, and even the Denver Broncos. What does it say to those companies that want to do business in Denver if investing in the community is not valued and effectively disregarded?

While going exclusively with a single company might make the jobs of city staff at DOTI a bit easier, limiting access to shared mobility options is the wrong approach for Denver. This path presents real risk for Denver residents, particularly low-income folks who actively rely on these services as an affordable and flexible way to get around. The fact is, we need more all-electric, sustainable ways to commute without relying on cars — not fewer options.

As such, DOTI should immediately reverse course and prioritize greater access, more affordable pricing, and the continuous innovation that comes from companies competing for riders. It simply doesn’t make sense to grant a monopoly and a multi-year contract to a company with absolutely no record of doing good business or investing in the Denver community.