E-scooters in Dallas: Lime and Bird, the rules, the night ban and where to park

Which e-scooters can you rent in Dallas?

Electric scooter rental in Dallas runs on one-year City permits and on the City’s Shared Dockless Vehicle Program Rules, posted on 17 April 2026 and in force since 28 April. The City’s page names the companies selected for the 2026–27 permit cycle: Lime (green and white vehicles) and Bird (silver and blue). Spin, permitted in 2025–26, “temporarily exited the market as of March 2026”, City staff said in April 2026; the page doesn’t name it for 2026–27.

The page sets a cap of 3,000 vehicles: up to 750 Bird scooters and 2,250 Lime vehicles, among them seated scooters, “Glider” seated scooters and e-bikes.

At 3:13 p.m. on Monday 26 October 2026 the Dallas map counted about 2,000 scooters, roughly 1,670 Lime and 330 Bird: the map’s figures at that moment, not the fleets. Matched to the Census Bureau’s boundaries at noon and at 4 p.m., every Bird stood in the city of Dallas, none in University Park, Highland Park, Irving or Addison.

For Bird the map shows each scooter’s position, charge and range, and its zones (see below); for Lime, position and charge. Scooters on a ride aren’t shown. First ride? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Not everything is on the map. ScootRadar shows standing e-scooters only: Lime’s e-bikes aren’t on it, and its seated scooters and Gliders may not be either, so look for them in the Lime app. The City’s page names no other bike share.

How much does a Lime or Bird scooter cost in Dallas?

On 26 October 2026 neither the City’s page nor Bird’s open data gave a Dallas price, so check it in the Lime or Bird app before you unlock. For other ways to rent, the City says, call Lime on 1-888-546-3345 or Bird on 1-866-205-2442.

The Program Rules add one charge: the company fines you $20 each time you park badly or skip the end-of-trip photo, and suspends your account for 30 days after your fifth parking offence. Breaking the City Code’s scooter rules can cost up to $200.

Dallas scooter rules: hours, speed, sidewalks and age

Texas’s Transportation Code, Chapter 551, lets a “motor-assisted scooter” use streets posted at 35 mph or less, sidewalks and bike paths, under the bicycle rules, and lets cities ban it from streets and sidewalks. The Dallas City Code, § 28-41.1.1 (Ordinance 32235, June 2022), binds riders; the Program Rules bind the companies.

Off the sidewalk, everywhere. The City Code bans riding a scooter on any sidewalk in Dallas, downtown and Deep Ellum included; the City’s page allows it only to start or end a ride.

Before you start, the app may test you on riding and parking: the rules require it at least once in every five rentals.

Can you ride a scooter at night in Dallas?

Not late. The Program Rules say: “Units may only be available to users to start a ride from 5:00 am to 8:45 pm daily. All rides must end by 9:00 pm.” The City’s page says the same. From 8:45 p.m. the map marks the night ban in Dallas and says when renting starts again.

For the FIFA World Cup the City authorised a 30-day pilot from 15 June to 15 July 2026, with rides from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and none starting after 9:45 p.m.; the 9 p.m. curfew was to return after it. The rules allow one such pilot in each permit cycle.

Scooters in Deep Ellum, downtown and the slow zones

In five slow zones scooters are held to 10 mph:

• Deep Ellum, every day, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.;
• Bishop Arts, Tuesday to Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.;
• the Farmers Market, Saturday and Sunday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.;
• the Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge, every day, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., the one trail you may ride;
• Victory Park, Friday to Sunday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The West End lost its slow zone in April 2026: City staff said slow limits on busy downtown roads were pushing riders onto the sidewalk. The City’s zone map still showed it on 26 October 2026, though the rules no longer list it.

In Deep Ellum the rules send riders to the designated parking areas: the City’s map lists corrals at 2908 Elm Street, 2511 Commerce Street and 2626 and 2701 Main Street, with six more downtown. On 26 October 2026 Bird’s open data, which the map draws, marked a strip along Elm and Main streets as no-parking, three of those corrals included, so end a Bird ride where its app allows.

At 3:41 p.m. that day the map showed about 20 Bird scooters in and around Deep Ellum; Lime’s stood there too.

Parking a Lime or Bird scooter in Dallas

The City’s page says where to park:

• in a scooter and bike corral, or locked to a bike rack if the scooter has a lock;
• in the landscaping or buffer zone between the sidewalk and the street, or at the curb where the sidewalk is at least 8 feet wide;
• upright on the kickstand, at least 10 feet from any intersection, crosswalk, transit shelter or transit stop.

The City Code adds: on a hard surface, never in the street unless a space is marked, nor in car parking or loading spaces, nor blocking doors, driveways or fire hydrants. Along a trail, the Program Rules add, park only at a trailhead.

Before the ride ends the app asks for a photo of the scooter, parked, and of its number. On 26 October 2026 Bird’s open data held about 1,500 no-parking zones and one no-ride zone, at City Hall Plaza; the map draws them at street zoom. It has no Lime zones, so check the Lime app. To report a scooter in the way, call 311 on 214-670-3111, or the company.

Klyde Warren Park, the Katy Trail, Fair Park and SMU

• Klyde Warren Park. Its rules ban “Riding bikes, scooters, motorized vehicles, skateboards, etc., through the Park”: walk the scooter across. Bird’s open data marks the park as no-parking.
• The Katy Trail. Friends of the Katy Trail say “No motorized vehicles permitted” on the 3.5-mile trail: ride the streets instead. White Rock Lake’s park and trail are City no-ride zones too, and Bird’s open data marks both trails no-parking.
• Fair Park. The Program Rules keep scooters off the State Fair grounds all year, and Bird’s data marks Fair Park as no-parking.
• SMU. Its policy, revised on 4 February 2026, says: “The use of shared-use Electric Scooters on the SMU campus is prohibited.”
• University Park and Highland Park are towns of their own. On 26 October 2026 Bird’s open data let you ride through both but not park. SMU’s guidelines say scooters may use only designated University Park streets and sidewalks, and University Park police may fine you $136 elsewhere.

DART, Love Field and DFW Airport

• DART trains. “Bikes and scooters share the space inside DART and TRE cars with persons using wheelchairs and strollers”, DART says. End a shared ride and park it properly before you board.
• Dallas Love Field. DART’s Love Link bus runs to it from Inwood/Love Field Station, on the Green and Orange lines. Love Field lies inside Bird’s area, but at midday on 26 October 2026 the nearest Bird was about 2.5 miles away.
• DFW Airport. DART’s Orange Line runs to Terminal A and its Silver Line to Terminal B. The airport lies outside Bird’s area, about 13.5 miles from the nearest Bird that day.

Elsewhere in Texas, see e-scooters in San Antonio, where Bird and Veo run; the San Antonio map shows both.

Did you know?

• Dallas brought scooters back in 2023. The City relaunched its programme with a soft launch on 24 May 2023, after work on its problems since autumn 2020.
• Rides average under 1.5 miles. From June 2024 to March 2025 riders made 240,833 trips, averaging 1.47 miles and 13.5 minutes, the City reported.
• In Texas law a scooter can have a seat. A motor-assisted scooter has a deck to stand or sit on and a motor of no more than 40 cubic centimetres.