How much does it cost to rent a Lime scooter in Boise?

$1 to unlock plus 39 cents a minute, Boise State’s page said in June 2026; the Lime app shows your price before you ride. Boise State’s campus community gets 25% off, and trips from the City’s equity focus areas cost half.

Can you ride an e-scooter on the sidewalk in Boise?

Yes: the City allows e-scooters on sidewalks and crosswalks, as long as you yield to people walking. On Boise State’s campus you must walk your scooter through the Quad and the “B” Plaza.

Are e-scooters allowed on the Boise Greenbelt?

Yes, on the 29 miles the City manages, where Lime’s scooters are capped at 12 mph, and on Garden City’s stretch, which bans e-scooters that can go faster than 15 mph, Garden City Police say. People walking have the right of way, so warn them before you pass.

Do you need a helmet to ride a scooter in Boise?

Under 18, yes: the City says the law requires one on any e-mobility device. Adults don’t have to wear one, but the City advises it, and Lime gives free helmets on request.

Which scooter companies operate in Boise?

Only Lime. The City chose it as its only shared micromobility provider in July 2023, which ended Bird’s agreement, and still names Lime alone in October 2026. Garden City chose Lime too, in July 2024.

E-scooters in Boise: Lime, the rules, the Greenbelt and where to park

You can rent e-scooters in Boise from Lime, the City’s only shared scooter and bike provider since July 2023 and the only operator on the map. Boise State’s page gives Lime’s price as $1 to unlock plus 39 cents a minute (June 2026); the app shows yours before you ride. You may ride in the street, in bike lanes, on sidewalks, where people walking come first, and on the City’s stretch of the Greenbelt, where Lime’s scooters top out at 12 mph; downtown they slow to 10 mph from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Updated 29 October 20269 min read

Which e-scooters can you rent in Boise?

Electric scooter rental in Boise means Lime. Lime and Bird both arrived in October 2018, after the City adopted ordinances that allowed e-scooters; in July 2023 the City chose Lime as its only shared micromobility provider, which ended Bird’s agreement, KIVI reported. The City’s page still names Lime as its only provider in October 2026, and we found no other company renting scooters in Boise. Garden City, a separate city on the river north-west of downtown, chose Lime as its only provider in July 2024, under its own rules.

A renewal of Lime’s contract was recommended at a City Council work session on 4 June 2024, KIVI reported: under the new terms Lime pays the City $100,000 a year plus 10 cents a ride, keeps sidewalks and ramps clear of its scooters and bikes, and puts out fewer in the winter months and more in the busy ones. We found no open record of the final vote by 29 October 2026.

At 1:51 a.m. on Thursday 29 October 2026 the Boise map showed about 1,390 Lime scooters as last counted, so some may have moved since: the map’s count, not Lime’s fleet. The total covers Lime’s whole Boise area, not just the city. Nearly four-fifths of that area is the City of Boise and most of the rest unincorporated Ada County; it also takes in all of Garden City, which has no total of its own on the map, and slivers of Eagle and Meridian. Boise’s code and agreement apply only inside the city limits.

For Lime the map shows each scooter’s position and charge; scooters on a ride aren’t shown. Not everything is on the map: ScootRadar shows e-scooters only, so Lime’s e-bikes aren’t on it. First ride? See how to rent an e-scooter.

How much does a Lime scooter cost in Boise?

Boise State’s parking and transportation page, updated on 29 June 2026, gives Lime’s price as $1 to unlock plus 39 cents a minute, enough to cross the campus for under $3. The terms recommended in June 2024 raised it from 36 cents a minute, KIVI reported. The app has the final word.

Lime discounts in Boise, as the City and Boise State list them (checked on 29 October 2026)
Discount	Who gets it	Source
25% off rides	The Boise State campus community	Boise State
50% off a trip	Trips that start in the neighbourhoods the City marks as equity focus areas	City of Boise
Lime Access	Low-income residents, with discounted rides; also a way to ride without a smartphone or credit card	City of Boise
$1 off your next ride	Ending a ride at a preferred parking spot, marked P in the app, outside the mandatory parking zones	City of Boise
Free	Lime Assist: an adaptive four-wheel scooter you book and Lime delivers	City of Boise

E-scooter rules in Boise: sidewalks, speed, helmets

Searching for scooter rules in Idaho? We couldn’t check the Idaho Code, so the rules below are as the City, Lime and Boise State state them. Garden City sets its own (see the Greenbelt below).

E-scooter rules in Boise, and who sets them (checked on 29 October 2026)
Rule	What applies	Set by
Where to ride	Streets, bike lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks, and the 29 miles of Greenbelt the City manages	City of Boise
Sidewalks	Allowed, but people walking come first: take care and yield to them	City of Boise
Speed	Lime’s scooters: 12 mph on the Greenbelt at all hours, 10 mph downtown from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., 15 mph elsewhere	Lime; the lower limits with the City, since 23 October 2025
Age	18 or over to ride a Lime	Lime’s rules, as Boise State lists them
Helmet	Required by law under 18, on any e-mobility device; advised for everyone	The law, as the City of Boise states it
Passengers	One person per scooter	City of Boise
Lights	At night, a white or yellow front light and a red rear reflector	City of Boise
Alcohol	No drinking and riding	Lime’s rules, as Boise State lists them
Reckless riding	Can be charged as a misdemeanour	City of Boise

Slow down where it’s busy. Since 23 October 2025 Lime’s scooters are capped at 12 mph on the Greenbelt at all hours and at 10 mph downtown from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., a change the City made with Lime. It is a speed limit, not a curfew: you can still ride at night. The City asks riders of private e-scooters and e-bikes, some of which top 30 mph, to keep to similar speeds there.

Nights and winter

We found no riding hours or night ban in Boise’s rules, and the map shows Lime’s scooters at every hour.

Nor did we find a winter pause. The terms recommended in 2024 have Lime put out fewer scooters in the winter months rather than stop (KIVI), and Lime’s scooters were on the map at the end of October 2026. After a snowfall, check the map: it shows only scooters standing for hire.

Where to park a Lime scooter in Boise

Downtown and at Boise State, end at a parking pin. Both are mandatory parking zones: you must end your ride at a mandatory parking pin, a blue P on the Lime app’s map, the City says. On campus that means a corral marked on the ground, Boise State’s policy adds.
Elsewhere, aim for a preferred spot. Preferred parking spots, marked P in the app and some with a “Park Here” sign, take $1 off your next ride. About 40 corrals marked “Park Here” went in during 2024 around downtown, Boise State, nearby neighbourhoods and transit corridors.
Leave the way clear. Stand the scooter upright at the edge of the sidewalk or by a bike rack. Never block bus stops, benches, curb ramps, intersections, building entrances or ADA access, and never park on private property, in a parking garage or in the street unless a corral is there. You may be fined for breaking the parking rules, the City says.
On the Greenbelt, park off the path, on concrete or another hard surface.
Zones. Obey the geofenced no-ride and slow zones, which the City maps on its page, as Garden City does Lime’s slow zones; the ScootRadar map doesn’t draw them. Report a badly parked Lime with the City’s online enforcement request form.

Can you ride e-scooters on the Boise River Greenbelt?

Yes, on most of it. The Greenbelt runs along the Boise River through Boise, Garden City and Ada County land, and each sets the rules on its own part (Boise State Public Radio, July 2024).

Boise’s stretch. E-scooters may use the 29 miles of Greenbelt the City manages, where 52 signs remind everyone to slow down and share the path. People walking have the right of way; warn them before you pass, by voice or bell. Lime’s scooters keep to 12 mph here.
Garden City’s stretch. E-scooters may use it and Garden City’s sidewalks, its council papers say, but an ordinance adopted on 13 July 2026 bans “high-speed” ones from the Greenbelt, parks, sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes, with a $300 fine plus court costs (CBS2). Garden City Police count any e-scooter that can top 15 mph as high-speed; Lime told Garden City that month that its devices in Idaho are capped at 15 mph. With no posted speed limit, the police ask riders to keep to 15 mph and slow down near the Riverside Hotel and the Boardwalk (KIVI, July 2026).
Ada County’s stretches. Other parts lie on Ada County land, under the County’s own rules, which we couldn’t check: follow the signs.

Boise State, VRT buses and the airport

Boise State. University Policy 12170 (revised 19 September 2025) caps every rider on campus at 15 mph, makes you walk your scooter through the Quad and the “B” Plaza, and keeps scooters out of buildings and the Lincoln, Brady, Osprey and University Plaza garages. Keep at least three feet from people walking and warn before you pass. A scooter that blocks a ramp or an entrance can be cited and impounded.
VRT buses. Valley Regional Transit’s buses carry bikes on a front rack, at least two per bus, and none inside; its bike page says nothing about e-scooters. End your Lime ride clear of the stop before you board.
Boise Airport. Routes 2 Broadway, 3 Vista and 20 Orchard serve the terminal from Monday to Saturday, VRT says; Route 2 runs from Main Street Station past Boise State. The airport’s ground transportation page says nothing about scooters, so follow the signs at the terminal.
Riding elsewhere in the Northwest? See e-scooters in Spokane and Portland, or find the nearest Lime on the Boise map.

Did you know?

Two companies, one morning. Lime and Bird both put scooters on Boise’s streets on Thursday 18 October 2018, KIVI reported. Lime had launched in Meridian shortly before, and its scooters there were paused within a week.
A night off. When rentals began in 2018, the City said the companies would take every scooter off the streets from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. to charge it.
Two million trips. By October 2025 riders had taken more than two million trips on shared e-scooters and e-bikes in Boise since Lime arrived in 2018, the City says.
One path, three police forces. Under an agreement Garden City’s council approved in January 2024, Boise Police, Garden City Police and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office may each enforce the law anywhere on the Greenbelt, whatever the boundary.

Questions

How much does it cost to rent a Lime scooter in Boise?: $1 to unlock plus 39 cents a minute, Boise State’s page said in June 2026; the Lime app shows your price before you ride. Boise State’s campus community gets 25% off, and trips from the City’s equity focus areas cost half.
Can you ride an e-scooter on the sidewalk in Boise?: Yes: the City allows e-scooters on sidewalks and crosswalks, as long as you yield to people walking. On Boise State’s campus you must walk your scooter through the Quad and the “B” Plaza.
Are e-scooters allowed on the Boise Greenbelt?: Yes, on the 29 miles the City manages, where Lime’s scooters are capped at 12 mph, and on Garden City’s stretch, which bans e-scooters that can go faster than 15 mph, Garden City Police say. People walking have the right of way, so warn them before you pass.
Do you need a helmet to ride a scooter in Boise?: Under 18, yes: the City says the law requires one on any e-mobility device. Adults don’t have to wear one, but the City advises it, and Lime gives free helmets on request.
Which scooter companies operate in Boise?: Only Lime. The City chose it as its only shared micromobility provider in July 2023, which ended Bird’s agreement, and still names Lime alone in October 2026. Garden City chose Lime too, in July 2024.