E-scooters in Athens: renting a Lime, Greece’s helmet law, and the city’s own scooter rules

Which e-scooter apps work in Athens?

Lime rents stand-up e-scooters in Athens through its app: you unlock one with your phone and pay as you ride. Many shops that advertise “scooter rental” in Greece hire mopeds, which need a driving licence; a shared e-scooter needs none.

At 9:57 am on Monday 2 November 2026, Greek time, the Athens map showed about 3,700 Lime scooters as last counted. The map shows the nearest one and the walk to it, and a button opens the app.

Check the price in the app before you unlock. New to shared scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Athens’s own e-scooter rules: adopted in 2025, revised in May 2026

National law sets the riding rules everywhere in Greece, but the Municipality of Athens has its own rulebook for e-scooters too. Greek law calls them Ε.Π.Η.Ο., light personal electric vehicles, and the city’s decisions, all published on Diavgeia, the state’s transparency site, use the same name.

• 27 October and 10 November 2025. The 4th municipal community approved the draft regulation, and the 2nd took its own decision on it.
• 20 November 2025. The Municipal Council adopted the “Regulation on the Circulation and Parking of Light Personal Electric Vehicles in the Municipality of Athens” (decision 717/2025), in line with act 2324/2025 of the Municipal Committee.
• 8 December 2025. The council approved the 2026 fee rates for the public space it grants for e-scooter parking (decision 786/2025), under the new regulation.
• April 2026. The city called for comments on amending the regulation and issuing it again as one consolidated text; a municipal community decided on that call on 21 April.
• 18 May 2026. The Municipal Council approved the amendment and the new consolidated text (decision 264/2026), in line with act 920/2026 of the Municipal Committee.

The decisions are in Greek, and the consolidated text of 18 May 2026 is the latest. For a visitor the practical rule is simple: end a ride only where the app allows, and read its map before you park.

Athens is not alone. Thessaloniki approved its own regulation in a decision issued on 13 October 2025, once the new Highway Code (law 5209/2025, published in the Government Gazette on 13 June 2025) applied in full, and Kos adopted one in June 2026. Each town’s rules apply only within its borders, so check the app again when you ride into a neighbouring municipality.

Two rulebooks apply at once. The city’s regulation covers how e-scooters circulate and park in Athens; Greek national law, below, sets the age, helmet, speed and fines for every rider.

Can you ride an e-scooter in Athens? Age, helmet and licence

Yes, and you need no driving licence. The rules below come from the Highway Code (KOK, law 5209/2025) as amended by law 5322/2026, published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 117) and in force since 24 July 2026.

• Age: 17 or over. Riding younger is a €150 fine. The app may set a higher age.
• Helmet: compulsory at any age, adults included: an approved helmet, fastened, or €30. Bring your own.
• ID: carry a passport or ID card when you ride. The operator’s insurance certificate can stay in the app.
• Passengers: one rider only (€150).
• Phone and headphones: no phone in your hand and no headphones while riding: €350 and 30 days’ licence removal.
• After dark: wear reflective clothing or gear (€30).

Since July 2026 third-party insurance has been compulsory for every e-scooter; on a shared scooter it’s the operator’s.

Where can you ride an e-scooter in Athens?

Greek law treats an e-scooter rather like a bicycle, with three rules that matter most in a big city:

• Cycle lane first. Where a road has a cycle lane, you must ride in it (€30 if you don’t).
• No fast roads. E-scooters are banned on any road where the limit is over 50 km/h (€350); a 50 km/h road is allowed. Where a big avenue’s signs show a limit over 50 km/h, take a quieter parallel street.
• No pavements, squares or pedestrian streets. Riding on them costs €350 and 30 days’ licence removal. Get off and walk the scooter across a square or along a pedestrian street.

The top speed is 25 km/h: €30 for riding up to 35 km/h, €150 above that.

On a steep street, brake early on the way down; on cobbles or smooth paving, which turns slippery in the rain, slow right down or walk.

Where can you park a rental e-scooter in Athens?

End your ride only where the app allows. The city’s regulation covers parking as well as riding, and the council has set fee rates for 2026 for the public space it grants for e-scooter parking.

National law adds limits wherever you stop:

Stand the scooter upright, out of the walking line, and take a photo if the app asks for one. Heading for a ferry? End the ride where the app allows before the quay and walk to the boat: the law bans parking where passengers board.

Greece’s e-scooter rules and fines in one table

These are the national rules that apply in Athens, as in Kos and Rhodes.

The fines are national, so a ticket in Athens costs the same as one on the islands. The July 2026 law raised several of them, set the minimum age at 17 and made third-party insurance compulsory.

Drinking, heat and night rides

• Alcohol. The limit is the drivers’ one, 0.5 g/l in the blood or 0.25 mg/l in breath, and the fine starts at €350. After an evening out, walk or take a taxi.
• Heat. Athens summers are hot: ride early or late, carry water, and remember that the helmet rule still applies.
• At night. Wear something reflective, as the law requires, and keep to lit streets you know.

Metro, tram and buses

A shared e-scooter is for the street. End your ride outside the station or stop, in a spot the app allows, and walk in.

Coming back out, open the Athens map to find the nearest Lime to the station exit.

Did you know?

• Thessaloniki came first. Its council approved its own e-scooter regulation unanimously, in decision 527/2025, issued on 13 October 2025: more than five weeks before Athens adopted its rules.
• Greek law files e-scooters under Ε.Π.Η.Ο., short for Ελαφρύ Προσωπικό Ηλεκτρικό Όχημα, a light personal electric vehicle. It is the name you’ll see on Athens’s regulation.
• Not every town’s rules survive. Kos adopted its own regulation in June 2026, and most of it was annulled two months later: see our Kos guide.