FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) On Tuesday, the City of Fort Wayne announced the termination of its partnership with Veo, the company that provides stand-up and seated scooters downtown, effective September 4.

It didn’t take long for Veo to go on the offensive and launch a campaign asking riders to act and tell the city how having the scooters has helped their transportation needs. Riders are asked to send a tweet or an email; ideally personalized.

In a page on it’s website titled “Act now: Keep Scooters in Fort Wayne”, Veo claims the decision was made without any notice to the company. It asked people to attend Tuesday evening’s city council meeting to voice their displeasure.

Tuesday morning the city announced the termination of it’s partnership, saying, “Increasingly, residents and business owners have raised concerns about safety and proper usage and issues have arisen with some riders using scooters recklessly and negligently.”

The partnership between Veo and Fort Wayne began in 2019.

Veo cited three takeaways from a survey of 350 riders it conducted in 2023:

A convenient, affordable travel option – especially when the bus isn’t running: Over half of Fort Wayne riders say that Veo allows them to reach important places like work or school affordably. On top of that, 52% of Veo trips happen outside of Citilink’s operating hours, proving that scooters are a critical link for residents and workers who need to get around when the bus isn’t running. 

Riders use scooters to get to and from local businesses: 34% of riders start most of their trips near dining or entertainment, showing how residents use shared scooters to get to and from local businesses. 

A clean transportation solution: Over one third of Fort Wayne riders said that having access to shared scooters has allowed them to get rid of a car or decrease their car travel.

Veo hopes its campaign to keep scooters will cause the city to reverse its decision.