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Mayor Ben Walsh announced a Syracuse bike-share program is returning to the city, according to a press release Wednesday.

Syracuse Sync, a bike-share program initially started in 2019, partnered with the company Veo for the program. The company hopes to create an initial fleet of 50 Veo Halo pedal assist e-bikes and up to 250 Astro electric scooters to be in service this fall. 

In 2019, Syracuse partnered with a bike-share service called Gotcha, which suspended operations in Syracuse in 2020 due to pandemic-related impacts, the release said.

“When we searched for a new partner to restart Syracuse Sync, we took a fresh look at the marketplace. Scooters are in high demand, so adding them to our fleet is great news for Syracuse,” Walsh said in the press release. “It’s a reflection of what shared mobility users are looking for.”

The electric bikes and scooters started arriving on city streets last Saturday, Walsh said. They will be available at about 30 locations around the city. Bikes and scooters can already be found where previous Syracuse Sync bikes were available: at “corrals” in city parks, business districts and neighborhoods.

Riders can unlock the bikes and scooters for a fee of $1 by scanning a QR code on the Veo app. The Astro scooter then costs 31 cents per minute, while the Halo e-bikes cost 20 cents a minute. Both will be available 24 hours a day, subject to change based on usage.

Low-income riders can be eligible for Veo Access Pricing, an initiative that waives the fee to unlock the vehicles.

To end the trip, users can use the Veo app to find an approved parking area and take an “end of ride” photo of the bike or scooter to ensure it is properly parked. GPS and LTE allow Veo to track the locations of the vehicles.

The app, which will be available on the Syracuse information page on Veo’s website by the end of the week, hosts locations of current corrals. Locations and quantities of the devices will be adjusted by usage.

“As Syracusans seek more eco-conscious modes of transportation, Veo’s unique mixed fleet of micromobility vehicles will provide options that fill the gap between mass transit, vehicle ownership, and walking,” said Candice Xie, chief executive officer of Veo, in the press release.

Published on September 29, 2021 at 9:29 pm

Contact Richard: rcperrin@syr.edu | @richardperrins2