April 10, 2018
WEST LAFAYETTE – The chief executive officer of West Lafayette-based VeoRide Inc. says the startup hopes to launch in 20 new markets in 2018. The company, which began at Purdue University last year and is expanding this month to two other institutions in the U.S., is a dockless bikeshare service that uses mobile technology to make bikes available to riders. Candice Xie, a Purdue graduate who co-founded VeoRide, says they have received positive feedback from users since the service began.
VeoRide announced last week it has signed contracts to launch the service at the University of Kansas and New England College in New Hampshire. In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Xie says VeoRide provides more convenience for users and communities than traditional bikeshare services.
“For the users, it gives them more freedom and the pricing is more affordable for them. It’s only 50 cents every time they ride a bicycle and they don’t need to return to a fixed station,” said Xie. “For the community, there is no up front costs so it lowers the barriers for the community to get a bikeshare program.”
Riders can use VeoRide’s mobile app to locate a nearby bike, unlock it by scanning a QR code on the bike or entering the bike’s ID number, and the bike will be available to ride. When they’re done with the bike, users can just park near any bike rack or publicly-available location listed on the app.
Xie says they are looking at certain locations to include in the planned expansion. “We are targeting the communities that are built for bikeshare, where bikeshare can be sustainable and where bike riding is engaging for the residents and visitors.”
The bikes themselves are designed by VeoRide. Xie says the company controls the entire process from designing to manufacturing to deployment, all of which is done in Indiana.
Xie founded the company along with Edwin Tan, another Purdue alumnus. The company recently relocated from the Purdue Railyard coworking space into its own office in West Lafayette. Xie says while they are looking to expand nationwide, they are proud to keep their roots in Indiana.
