Riding electric scooters on sidewalks is prohibited in Denver, but you wouldn’t know it when you’re out and about in the city.
Illegal sidewalk riding has been a persistent issue ever since rentable e-scooters came to Denver in 2018. When the city began seeking new scooter vendors last year, one of its primary priorities was cracking down on the practice. That priority contributed to Veo being selected as Denver’s exclusive micromobility operator after a contentious separation from Lime and Bird.
Veo promised that its vehicles could detect when users ride on sidewalks and intervene, such as by automatically slowing down or stopping. However, more than three months after Veo launched in Denver in May, the vehicles are still constantly ridden on sidewalks. The behavior has continued even after a new city ordinance took effect on July 1, requiring rentable scooters to be equipped with sidewalk-detection technology…