In a statement emailed to students on Dec. 6, Texas A&M Transportation Services announced that it may not renew its contract with bike-share vendor VeoRide due to increased misuse of the turquoise bikes.
In January of 2019, Texas A&M began a one-year contract with the new vendor after terminating its partnership with Chinese bike-share company ofo in December 2018. A&M’s contract with VeoRide will conclude on Dec. 31, and since it is unclear whether the company will be able to provide new features to help the university better manage the bikes, Transportation Services said it has not yet re-upped the deal.
“Because of an increasing level of inappropriate activities (bikes parked to block access to ADA ramps, sidewalks, and doors; vandalism and unsafe antics involving bikes), we have requested a bike share system that allows for bikes to be locked to a rack to prevent these activities,” the statement from Transportation Services said. “We may also consider a smaller geofence to help ensure an appropriate number of bikes are available on-campus and to make the program more manageable.”
Throughout the semester, VeoRide bikes have been a popular subject on social media, with posts of the bikes in peculiar places, catching the attention of A&M students and employees.
Transportation Services said its decision regarding renewal of the contract will likely be made some time after the end of the current semester. It recommended that students who rely on the program follow transport.tamu.edu for updates, which should be posted by Jan. 7, according to Friday’s statement. Those who have purchased VeoRide subscriptions that last beyond Dec. 31 will receive prorated refunds if the contract is not renewed, Transportation Services said.