E-scooters in Bucharest: Bolt, Lime and Splash, the rules, the park ban and where to ride
E-scooters in Bucharest are rented mainly through three apps, Bolt, Lime and Splash; our map shows Bolt and Lime, and Splash is only in its app. Bolt’s Romanian rate starts at €0.15 a minute plus a small unlock fee. Romanian law lets you ride from 14 with no licence (Bolt rents from 18) and makes a helmet compulsory only under 16. Ride in the cycle lane where there is one, otherwise on a road with a 50 km/h limit, never on the pavement unless a cycle lane is marked on it. Rental scooters stop at the park gates.
E-scooters in Bucharest: Bolt, Lime and Splash
On 4 September 2026 Bucharest City Hall (Primăria Municipiului București, PMB) named the main companies renting out electric scooters (trotinete electrice) in the city:
- Bolt, in the same app as its taxis.
- Lime, which had already blocked its scooters in four big parks, PMB said.
- Splash, in its own app; our map doesn’t show its scooters.
At 19:41 on Sunday 25 October 2026 the map of Bucharest showed about 4,300 Bolt scooters: a snapshot, not the fleet, and one that reaches past the city limits. In a count later that evening, matched to the official boundaries of ANCPI, Romania’s land registry agency, nearly 4,000 stood in the six sectors, the most in Sector 1 (about 1,100), and about 240 in three towns of Ilfov county: Voluntari, Chiajna and Popești-Leordeni.
A full scan of Lime’s Bucharest zone, finished at 23:13 that day, found about 5,000: a separate count, not part of the Bolt snapshot. Lime’s zone, too, edges a little into Ilfov.
Prefer a bike? i’velo’s bikes, rented in its app and returned to its stations, aren’t on our map. New to shared scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.
How much does an e-scooter cost in Bucharest?
Bolt publishes no Bucharest price. Its Romanian scooter page advertises pay-as-you-go “starting from €0.15 per minute”, a national figure, and says the total “includes a small unlock fee and a per-minute rate that may vary depending on your location”. We couldn’t check a price for Lime or Splash. Every app shows its price before you unlock.
Bolt’s terms for Romania add fees in lei:
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Pay as you go | From €0.15 a minute, plus a small unlock fee |
| Unlimited unlocks | From €0.99 a month |
| Passes | Weekly and monthly, priced in the app |
| Bad parking, or no clear end-of-ride photo | 30 lei |
| Scooter left outside the permitted parking area | Up to 150 lei pick-up fee |
| A city fine passed on to you | The fine, plus an admin fee of up to 250 lei |
| Scooter not returned within 48 hours | Up to 2,500 lei |
Bolt’s terms from 1 December 2026 keep the same fees.
Can you ride an e-scooter in Bucharest? Age, helmet and licence
Yes, and you need no licence. Romania’s road law, OUG 195/2002, treats an e-scooter (trotinetă electrică) built for more than 6 km/h and no more than 25 km/h as a vehicle that needs no registration (art. 6 and 12), and lets anyone of 14 or over ride one on public roads (art. 70).
- Age: 14 by law. Bolt rents only to riders of 18 and over: its own terms, not the law.
- Helmet: compulsory under 16 when you ride on the carriageway. For everyone else Bolt says a helmet is “strongly advised”.
- Passengers: banned. One person per scooter.
- ID: carry an identity document, the regulation says.
- Speed: Bolt’s scooters reach 25 km/h in most Romanian cities; new riders are capped at 15 km/h for their first five rides.
- Sober: Bolt may ask you to pass a reaction test before it unlocks a scooter: at night, says its Romanian page; at peak hours, says its English one.
Where can you ride and park in Bucharest?
Cycle lane first, then the road, never the pavement. Use the cycle lane where there is one; otherwise the law allows e-scooters only on roads with a 50 km/h limit, in the lane by the kerb. The pavement is banned unless a cycle lane is marked on it.
The law’s regulation, HG 1391/2006, also bans riding two abreast or with one hand, holding on to another vehicle, riding on black ice, ice or snow, and riding across a pedestrian crossing: get off and walk. Motorways and expressways are closed to e-scooters.
Expect to share the road: Bucharest’s cycle masterplan, approved in spring 2025, plans 150 km of cycle lanes on main roads and 400 km on side streets, PMB said in June 2026.
Parking. End your ride where the app allows, upright and out of the way. The regulation bans leaving an e-scooter standing on the carriageway at night. Bolt asks for an end-of-ride photo, and if you park badly or the photo isn’t clear it may charge 30 lei.
No city scheme yet. Bucharest has no rental-scooter regulation in force: we found no permits, fleet caps, operator fees or night ban. On 7 July 2026 PMB put draft rules out for consultation: riders of 18 and over, no pavements or parks, and parking only in app-marked spots that PMB has authorised. A draft regulation for the rental service was on the General Council’s agenda on 30 September 2026, wasn’t adopted, and is back on it for 27 October 2026: until a vote, these are proposals, not rules.
Parks and street events: where rental scooters stop
A General Council decision of 30 October 2025, HCGMB 458/2025, bans motorised vehicles, e-scooters and e-bikes included, from the paths and open spaces of the city’s public parks and gardens. Even the cycle paths inside the parks are for non-motorised vehicles only. The fine is 200–500 lei for a person (art. III).
On 4 September 2026 PMB said it had asked the main operators to cut rental scooters’ speed in all parks from 5 km/h to 0 km/h, and to do the same at large street events. Lime, Bolt and Splash agreed, and Lime had already blocked its scooters in King Michael I Park (Herăstrău), Cișmigiu, Tineretului and Carol Park. In practice a rental scooter stops at the park gate: end the ride outside and walk in.
Bucharest scooter rules and fines in lei
Romanian fines are counted in fine points (puncte-amendă), each worth 5% of the gross minimum wage (road law art. 98). With the minimum wage at 4,325 lei since 1 July 2026 (HG 146/2026), one point is 216.25 lei. Most e-scooter offences are class II (art. 100: 4–5 points, 865–1,081.25 lei); the dangerous ones below are class III (art. 101: 6–8 points, 1,297.50–1,730 lei). Riders aged 14 to 17 pay half, and anyone who pays within 15 days pays half the minimum (OG 2/2001, art. 11 and 28).
| Rule | What applies | Who sets it | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | 14; Bolt rents from 18 | Road law art. 70; Bolt’s terms | – |
| Helmet | Compulsory under 16 on the carriageway | Road law art. 70 and 100 | 432.50–540.63 lei (class II, halved for a minor) |
| Where to ride | Cycle lane if there is one, else roads with a 50 km/h limit; kerb lane only | Road law art. 41; regulation art. 160–161 | 865–1,081.25 lei |
| Pavement and crossings | Banned unless the pavement carries a cycle lane; walk across crossings | Regulation art. 161 | 865–1,081.25 lei |
| Ice or snow | No riding when the road is covered in black ice, ice or snow | Regulation art. 161 | 865–1,081.25 lei |
| Passengers | Banned | Road law art. 70 | 865–1,081.25 lei |
| Alcohol or drugs | Banned when “under the influence”; the law sets no limit | Regulation art. 161; road law art. 101 | 1,297.50–1,730 lei |
| Lights at night | White or yellow at the front, red at the back, reflectors | Road law art. 70; regulation art. 14 | 1,297.50–1,730 lei |
| Red light, holding on to a vehicle, motorways | Banned | Road law art. 74 and 101; regulation art. 161 | 1,297.50–1,730 lei |
| Parks and gardens | No riding on paths, even park cycle paths | City: HCGMB 458/2025 | 200–500 lei |
None of the road law’s 2025–2026 amendments touched these e-scooter rules; the class III list has stood since 29 June 2024.
The metro, buses, the airport and landmarks
Metro. Metrorex said on 10 July 2026, as Capital reported, that bikes and scooters may travel on weekdays from 20:00 to 23:00 and all day at weekends and on public holidays, in the first carriage, boarding by its first door. A trial adding 11:00–14:00 on weekdays ran from 15 July to 15 September 2026. Metrorex’s website didn’t answer us: check at the station.
Buses, trams and trolleybuses. The Bucharest–Ilfov transport rules on STB’s website don’t mention e-scooters. Bulky luggage that fits within 60 × 60 cm takes an extra fare; anything larger breaks the rules and can be fined.
Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni). On the evening of 25 October 2026 the map had no Bolt or Lime scooter in Otopeni, and the airport’s website refused our requests. Pick up a scooter in the city instead.
Palace of the Parliament. The Chamber of Deputies’ access rules (18 March 2022) let vehicles into the guarded courtyard only with an access and parking pass: ride round it, not into the grounds.
Universities. Politehnica’s (UPB) campus roads are private and “closed to public traffic”, with a 30 km/h limit; visitors walk in through the gates, with ID.
The Bucharest map shows the nearest Bolt or Lime scooter and the walk to it.
Did you know?
- The regulation says e-scooters are ridden “only in a straight line” on public roads. To change direction, the rider gets off and walks beside it.
- Romanian fines rise with wages. Since the minimum wage went up on 1 July 2026, a class II fine starts at 865 lei.
- Rental scooters in Bucharest’s parks used to slow to 5 km/h. Now they stop dead.
Questions
- Which e-scooter companies operate in Bucharest?
- Bolt, Lime and Splash, the operators the city hall named on 4 September 2026. Our map shows Bolt and Lime: about 4,300 Bolt at 19:41 on 25 October 2026 and, in a separate full scan of Lime’s zone finished at 23:13, about 5,000 Lime. Splash is only in its app.
- How much does an e-scooter cost in Bucharest?
- Bolt’s Romanian page gives pay-as-you-go from €0.15 a minute plus a small unlock fee, with passes; each app shows its Bucharest price before you unlock. Bad parking costs 30 lei with Bolt.
- Do you need a licence or a helmet to ride an e-scooter in Romania?
- No licence: anyone of 14 or over may ride one. A helmet is compulsory only under 16 on the carriageway, though Bolt advises one for everyone. Bolt rents only to riders of 18 and over.
- Can you ride an e-scooter on the pavement in Bucharest?
- No, unless a cycle lane is marked on it. Use the cycle lane where there is one, otherwise a road with a 50 km/h limit, in the lane by the kerb; an adult is fined 865–1,081.25 lei.
- Are e-scooters allowed in Bucharest’s parks?
- No. A General Council decision of 30 October 2025 bans motorised vehicles, e-scooters included, from the paths of the city’s parks and gardens, with fines of 200–500 lei. Since September 2026 rental scooters can’t be ridden in the parks at all.
- What is the fine for riding an e-scooter drunk in Romania?
- Riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a class III offence: 1,297.50–1,730 lei for an adult since 1 July 2026. The law sets no alcohol limit for e-scooter riders, so don’t ride after drinking at all.