News

2022 – 2024 E-Scooter Program Overview

Participants: Four companies will be permitted to operate within the city – Divvy (includes Lyft brand), Spin, Lime, and Superpedestrian. Superpedestrian and Lime have not received permits to begin operations as of June 16th.

Boundaries: Divvy will restrict the operation of its scooters to the central business district (bordered by Pershing, Damen, Armitage, and Lakeshore Drive) while the three other operators will be able to operate citywide with the exception of restricted areas. Scooters will be NOT be allowed on the Riverwalk, Lakefront Trail, the 606, or at Navy Pier. For the first two months, Spin; Lime; and Superpedestrian may not operate in the Downtown Area.

# of Scooters: 4,000 in total, each company will provide up to 1,000 scooters. Spin and Divvy, for instance, have started with 500 scooters in their initial launches with plans to scale up gradually to 1000 throughout the summer.

Rental Price: $1 to unlock and $0.39 per minute after unlock. Automatic 50% discounts are offered to riders in equity areas on the South/West sides (Divvy prices for non-members, each company varies in its per minute price)

Docking/Locking: Divvy will offer riders the ability to dock Divvy branded scooters in Divvy docking stations within their operations area. Spin, Lime, and Superpedestrian scooters will not have a docking option, these scooters will be required to be locked upright to fixed structures along the sidewalk using built-in bluetooth cables. Divvy branded scooters may also be parked using this option for an additional fee. Parked scooters may not block fire hydrants, bus stops, loading zones, or building entry ways, they may also not be parked in front of building facades or along private fences. Appropriate fixed objects for parking include retired street meters, street sign poles, street lights, or bike racks. Riders must park scooters in the public right of way leaving 5ft of space open for pedestrians using the sidewalk. Scooters can NOT be parked within 10 feet of corners or intersections.

Speed Limit: 15mph, 10mph for a rider’s first trip.

Riding Area: Scooters must be operated in the street, they may not be operated on the sidewalk.

Hours of Operation: 5:00am – midnight.

Reporting Issues: All members of the public may report scooter parking issues over 311. Companies have 2 hours to remedy any parking issues, after 2 hours, the city staff from Streets and Sanitation Department may remove the scooter as deemed fit.