Is the Electric Trike the Next Big Thing in Shared Micromobility?

Rideshare micromobility vehicles it is well known in major cities all over the world, be it bike program or electric scooters. Now, the company called What? is bringing electric tricycles into the mix.

Announced Tuesday at an event in Denver, the company unveiled the Rover, a three-wheeled, low-slung electric vehicle designed for anyone to ride on the road. They are currently available in Denver, but Veo plans to expand the car to cities across the US.

The rover works as a shared bike or e-scooter. Log in to the Veo app, pay to unlock the trike, then ride around. It’s 2.5 feet wide, meaning it can legally fit in bike lanes that are usually 3 feet long. Trikes have a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour. Cities tend to drive these types of bikes and scooters at 15 mph, but Veo chose to go with a lower speed for safety reasons. The Rover uses the same batteries as Veo’s other EV offerings, giving it about 45 miles per charge; In the back is a cargo basket that can carry up to 100 pounds of luggage or groceries.

Veo is a relatively small player in the micromobility space, operating in about 60 small cities in the US. In May, the city of Denver signed an exclusive deal with Veo to replace the city’s scooters and ebikes produced by competing companies Lime and A bird. Now a provider of bikes and scooters in Denver, Veo wanted to use the city to showcase the latest addition to its micromobility lineup.

Courtesy of Veo

The Rover is mainly a found play, as three cars they tend to stand on their own and control themselves better than two-wheelers and scooters. City governments sometimes require micromobility companies to provide options for people who need accessible vehicles. Lime has launched a free car rental app called Lime treatment which allows users to rent accessible cars for the day. The bird started its own program available for rent in April. Veo also offers similar options but wants to make this type of car more widely available.

“The hope is that your local bus service or your bus provider will provide accessible options for those in wheelchairs or those with limited mobility,” Alexander Keating, Veo’s vice president of policy and partnerships, tells WIRED. “There is still hope for us, from the cities that allow our programs of all kinds, to do everything they can to reach them.”

Veo says it worked with disability advocates, including the Disability Mobility Initiative, the Parkinson’s Foundation, and Capitol Hill Village, to develop the Rover, along with organizations like AARP photo creating something that will appeal to older users, too. The trike’s three-wheel design means it’s self-propelled, so people can jump without having to deal with falling or shaking with a kickstand.