March 31, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

VeoRide hopes to expand to St. Joseph

Soon there could be shareable bikes in St. Joseph—if VeoRide has it way.


Linda Jackson, spokesperson for VeoRide said the company is interested in extending their geofencing to allow the bikes stationed at the University of Illinois to be used on the Kickapoo Rail Trail that passes through St. Joseph.


The company will present its plan to the St. Joseph Village Board on Tuesday and allow village trustees to ask questions. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Village Hall located at 207 E. Lincoln.


“If all goes well, we would anticipate expanding the service area sometime in April,” Jackson said.


VeoRide was founded in 2017 to help people find reliable, cheap and green shareable transportation.


Currently, there are around 500 of the turquoise bikes, which is a VeoRide signature, in the Champaign-Urbana area.


More than 110,000 people have taken rides on the rentable bikes.


The program launched in Champaign-Urbana on Sept. 1, 2018 with just 100 bikes but quickly expanded to 500, which was the maximum allowed by the University of Illinois, Champaign and Urbana.


Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges said she met with company representatives a few weeks ago. The plan calls for three to five bikes to be placed in St. Joseph.


“The company is mostly interested in extending the boundary for their bike usage to include St. Joseph,” she said.


The program is being tested for one year in Champaign-Urbana and at the U of I. The program allows customers to use the bikes for a short time and park them wherever they are done using them within certain boundaries the company has set.

The bikes are tracked with GPS and locked when not in use. The users unlock the bikes with a phone app. Riders pay for the bike through the app and are charged 50 cents for 15 minutes. They are also instructed on how to properly park the bikes when finished.

Fruhling-Voges said she thinks the program could be positive for the community.


“This could potentially bring more people out from CU to visit our community and businesses,” she said. “Those people would need a way to return back to CU, so those bikes would be returned at that time.”

Some of the biggest complaints with the program come from bike users leaving the bikes wherever they want.

The company said the bikes can be moved even when they are locked so if one is in a yard or on business property it can be moved to a different location. If bikes are left and a property owner wants them picked up they can call 855-VEO-2256 or email hello@veoride.com.

“The company would be in charge of any abandoned bikes or bikes that become disabled,” Fruhling-Voges said.


Fruhling-Voges said the village would have no financial stake in the program.


“The program can be tried on a temporary timeline and doesn’t cost the village anything to give it a try,” she said. “I don’t feel like we have anything to lose.  The extra exposure for visitors to the village is always a good thing.”

Banner
Related Posts

Landers to be honored by village

January 25, 2022

January 25, 2022

Aaron Landers dedicated his life to serving others. For 24 years, Landers served as a University of Illinois Police Officer...

Fruhling-Voges lays out Phase 3 plans for St. Joseph

May 29, 2020

May 29, 2020

St. Joseph Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges wants St. Joseph residents to be patient with one another as the State of Illinois...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Jan. 24, 2023

January 24, 2023

January 24, 2023

I am here live so you don’t have to be. Jim Wagner just said it will be a short meeting...

LIVE AT ST. JOSEPH VILLAGE BOARD, JULY 25, 2023

July 25, 2023

July 25, 2023

I am here so you don’t have to be. This agenda is super short- lots of special event permits and...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Nov. 28

November 28, 2023

November 28, 2023

I am a little late. But I am here now. Discussing how Middle School Cross Country would like a Cross...

Live at Ogden Village Board, August 4, 2022

August 4, 2022

August 4, 2022

Ok so the blog crashed and the convo for the first 15 minutes was pretty heated. But the basic gist...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, June 13, 2023

June 13, 2023

June 13, 2023

No one is here in the audience. Are you all watching on Youtube? Anyway… Jim Wagner isn’t here, neither is...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board March 23, 2021

March 23, 2021

March 23, 2021

We are here. This could be a pretty amazing meeting. LIQUOR LICENSE TIME. We are moving the agenda around so...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Oct. 11, 2022

October 11, 2022

October 11, 2022

We are live at village board. The news everyone is waiting for. Halloween Trick or Treat hours are Oct. 31...

Talk of the Town with Royal Mayor Bob Vilven

February 18, 2019

February 18, 2019

Every week we are going to ask a village official or school administrator to answer three questions. This week it...

Village Gardeners to kick off season Monday

April 12, 2019

April 12, 2019

On Monday, the St. Joseph Village Gardners are kicking off their 2019 season. Member Samuel Furrer said the group’s first...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board , Nov. 22, 2022

November 22, 2022

November 22, 2022

Happy Thanksgiving Eve, Eve. Apparently, they buried a time capsule today but no one told me so…. There was no...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Feb. 14, 2023

February 14, 2023

February 14, 2023

Happy Valentines Day. I was two minutes late and we are already done with the investments. Wes Taylor is here....

Live at Ogden Village Board March 4, 2021

March 4, 2021

March 4, 2021

Tonight we will find out the fate of the Ogden Easter Egg Hunt. Philo, St, Joseph and Tuscola have canceled...

Live Blog, St. Joseph Village Board May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021

We are here at village board. Van Buskirk is absent as is Davis. Rapp, Cummings, Painter and Wagner are here...

Comments
Leave a Reply