All about Lyft scooter and bike rentals: Cities, prices, and how to ride!

Thanks to the rapid expansion of Bird and Lime, you can find electric scooters on the sidewalks of many cities across America. It’s not as widely known, but Lyft also has a scooter and e-bike rental program of its own.

Here’s how scooter and bike rentals on Lyft work: Open the Lyft app and select the scooter icon to find available bikes and scooters. To start your rental, use the app to scan a barcode on the handlebars, and you’re off!

It costs around $1 to unlock and $0.20–$0.39 for every minute of use.

But how does Lyft Scooter stack up to other scooter rentals like Bird? I rented a Lyft Scooter in Santa Monica and found that Lyft scooters give Bird a run for their money.

Get a discount on scooter and bike rentals with Lyft Pink

Lyft Pink members get 1 free bike or scooter unlock per month, and Lyft Pink All Access members get even more benefits.

Lyft Pink All Access members can get:

• Unlimited free 45-min classic bike rides
• Unlimited free ebike and scooter unlocks
• Discounted ebike and Lyft scooter rates
• 3 bike or scooter guest passes per year
• Access to the Bike Angels rewards program, where offered

Lyft Pink costs $9.99 per month and All Access costs $199 per year.

Where are Lyft scooters available?

To see if scooter and bike rentals are available in your city, open the Lyft app and look for the scooter icon on the home screen of the app.

Lyft scooter is currently available in these cities:

• Chicago
• Denver
• Washington, D.C.
• Minneapolis

Visit Lyft.com/scooters to see the most up-to-date list of available cities.

Lyft bikeshare cities

You can rent a Lyft e-bike in the cities below. Note that Lyft partners with existing bike programs in many cities. The partnerships mean that you can use other existing methods to rent the bikes, or use the Lyft app.

• Bay Area — Bay Wheels
• Chicago — Divvy
• Columbus — CoGo
• Denver
• Metro DC — Capital Bikeshare
• NYC — Citi Bike
• Portland — BIKETOWN

Visit Lyft.com/bikes for the latest list of cities

Requirements and rules to ride scooters & bike

• You must be 18 years or older with a valid driver’s license
• You must begin and end your ride in the designated service area outlined in the Lyft app. There is a fee if you end the ride outside of the service area
• The scooters only operate during service hours
• Follow traffic laws
• Don’t ride with a second rider on the scooter
• When you drop off the scooter, don’t block sidewalks or driveways
• There is a $100 pick-up fee if you leave the scooter in an unreachable area, such as behind a locked gate or on inaccessible private property
• See the full list of rules on the Lyft scooter terms of service

Learn about other e-scooter and bike rentals

• A guide to Uber scooter and bike rentals
• Wheels e-bikes

How to use a Lyft scooter or bike

There are essentially only 4 steps to ride a one:

1. Find a scooter or bike inside the service area
2. Scan the barcode to activate it
3. Ride!
4. Park in a safe area and end the ride

1. Find a scooter or bike inside the service area

Start by toggling the Scooter mode, a button on the home screen of the Lyft app. The map will then display any nearby scooters and enable features that can only be used in the scooter mode of the app.

Lyft only allows scooters to be picked up and dropped off within a service area that is outlined inside the Lyft app. You can leave the service area, but you must return to the service area to drop off the scooter.

2. Scan the scooter barcode to activate the scooter

Any scooter that shows up on the map of the Lyft app is available to use. Walk up to the scooter and tap the Scan button inside the Lyft app. Scan your driver’s license bar code to confirm you’re 18.

Then point your phone camera at the QR code on the handlebars of the scooter. When you’re ready to start riding, tap the Begin Ride button.

3. Riding a Lyft scooter

Lyft scooters are similar to other modern electric scooters Bird and Lime. They are simple to operate and don’t have many features; Only a throttle, brake, and kickstand.

1. Point the scooter in a safe direction
2. Kickstart twice to get the scooter moving, then press the throttle on the right handlebar to speed up
3. Squeeze the brake on the left to slow down

Lyft uses similar scooters and Bird and Lime. The top speed is around 15 mph and the range is up to 15 miles.

4. Park the scooter and end the ride

If the scooter is dockless, you can park the scooter in any public area inside the service area. Just don’t block sidewalks, ramps, or driveways with the scooter.

Most users place them near bike racks, near trees, or lampposts that are away from the main flow of a sidewalk. Never park the scooter on private property.

After you park the scooter, tap End Ride in the Lyft app. You may also be instructed to take a photo of the scooter to show Lyft the condition and location of the scooter when you left it.

For docked scooters, find a dock on the map in the Lyft app and follow instructions to park your scooter at the dock.

How Lyft scooters compare to Bird

Lyft’s dockless scooters are nearly identical to Bird scooters. The cost is similar, the scooters are similar, and the apps all function in essentially the same way.

But Lyft also has docked scooters, which can only be rented from a docking station. That is one big distinction between Bird and Lyft.

One advantage Lyft has over the other scooter services is that millions of people already use Lyft, so existing Lyft users won’t have to download an extra app to get started.

When I used a Lyft scooter, I didn’t have to create a new account and enter payment info. All I did was tap a few buttons and I was on my way. If Lyft expands the scooter service to more areas of my city, I’ll have less reason to use Bird or Lime because I’m mostly in the habit of using the Lyft app.

More essential reading on Lyft

• How Much Does Lyft Cost? 
• The Differences Between the Uber Ride Types
• How Existing Lyft Users Can Save on Rides