Report

State and Local Survey of Laws Regulating Escooter Sharing Services

January 13, 2021

The growth and use of electric scooters (escooters) for personal transportation has exploded over the last several years. Much of this growth has been driven by escooter sharing companies, which, rather than pursuing a model of personal ownership, deploy and maintain fleets of escooters throughout a region and allow individuals to use a mobile application to activate and ride the escooter for a fee. Escooters can provide an alternative and a supplement to other methods of transportation, and with the rise of escooter sharing services, we have seen significant growth in the United States and growing interest internationally. Currently, shared micro-mobility systems (encompassing escooters, ebikes, conventional bicycles, and other methods) are in place in 46 states and Washington, DC, and use is expected to continue to grow. The number of trips on them rose to 136 million in 2019, a 60% increase from the previous year.