E-scooters in Los Angeles: Bird, Veo and Lime, what a ride costs, the rules, and where you can’t ride

Which scooter apps work in Los Angeles?

LADOT runs a yearly permit programme for dockless scooters and bikes, set in the Municipal Code since 2021. Its page lists four providers: Bird, Lime, GCOO and Veo. Spin, now Bird’s, has all but gone: its LA open data listed one disabled scooter on 17 October 2026, last reported on 7 October.

• Bird, by far the biggest, across the city, almost all with stand-up scooters.
• Veo, on the west side: Santa Monica and, next door in LA, Venice, Mar Vista and West LA. That fleet is mostly seated Cosmo e-bikes, with about 650 stand-up scooters in its open data on 17 October 2026.
• Lime, in LA since 2017, which added e-bikes in April 2025 and announced seated LimeGliders that October. Our map doesn’t show Lime’s LA scooters: Lime publishes no open data for LA, so look for one in the Lime app.
• GCOO is also on LADOT’s list. It publishes no open data either, and we couldn’t confirm where it runs.

On the evening of 16 October 2026 the map of Los Angeles showed about 7,400 Bird and 600 Veo scooters. That’s our map’s Los Angeles view that evening, not the fleets or a city-limits count: it also takes in neighbouring cities such as Santa Monica, Culver City and Beverly Hills. E-bikes aren’t shown.

Each operator may deploy 500 to 6,000 vehicles under a permit of up to a year, which costs it $20,000 plus a fee per trip. On 13 October 2026 the City Council adopted an ordinance raising the fee to $150,000 a year; on 17 October it could still be reconsidered and needed the Mayor’s approval. It changes nothing for riders.

Visiting? Get the app before you go: you need a smartphone with data to unlock and end a ride. State law asks for “a valid driver’s license or instruction permit”, and lets a visitor over 18 drive on a valid licence from home. LADOT’s page asks for “a valid California driver’s license”, but its permit rules just say “Driver’s License”. Carry yours. New to this? See how to rent an e-scooter.

How much does a scooter cost in Los Angeles?

Veo publishes its LA rate in its open data, the same for its scooters and Cosmo e-bikes. Bird and Lime show prices only in their apps.

Metro Bike, the county’s bike share, has classic and electric bikes round the clock; an electric one costs $1 to unlock on a single ride. A 30-day pass costs $17 and a year $150, each with rides of up to 30 minutes free (prices on 17 October 2026).

Low-income riders. LADOT makes every operator offer unlimited trips under 30 minutes, with no deposit and a cash option, to riders with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, and a way to ride without a smartphone.

Los Angeles scooter rules: age, helmets, speed and sidewalks

Most rules come from the California Vehicle Code (CVC), which gives a scooter rider a driver’s duties; LADOT adds its permit rules. You need no insurance, registration or plates.

No riding on sidewalks. State law allows it only to enter or leave an adjacent property. LAPD tickets sidewalk riders, and LADOT puts the fine at $197.

Where you can’t ride: Venice Beach, Hollywood and the parks

• Venice Beach. The Municipal Code bans e-scooters on any boardwalk, sidewalk or bike path in the beach park between the Santa Monica city line and Washington Boulevard, so Ocean Front Walk and the beach bike path are off-limits. A first offence costs $100; later ones $250, or a misdemeanour charge. Bird’s app also marks the Venice beachfront and the Venice Canals as no-ride zones.
• Hollywood Walk of Fame. Bird’s app blocks riding on Hollywood Boulevard from La Brea Avenue to about Vine Street, and parking further east towards Gower Street. Walk the stars.
• Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Bird’s app marks both cities as no-ride zones, so you can’t ride a Bird into either. West Hollywood runs its own scooter programme: its page names Lime as the only operator since April 2024.
• Parks. Bird’s app marks Elysian Park as no-ride, and the Municipal Code keeps scooters off the walkway round Lake Balboa.
• Campuses. UCLA has a contract with Bird: other operators’ scooters may cross on campus roads but are impounded if parked there. Bird’s app marks USC’s University Park campus as no-ride.

State law lets scooters use bike paths unless a local ordinance bans them, and Bird’s app allows the LA River path through Elysian Valley. The 25 mph rule keeps you off freeways and off big boulevards without a bike lane.

Parking a scooter in Los Angeles

LADOT wants scooters upright in the furniture zone, the strip between curb and walkway with trees and poles, ideally at a bike rack, leaving 6 feet of sidewalk clear. Never park:

• in front of driveways, crosswalks or transit stops, or within 15 feet of a corner ramp;
• next to ADA ramps or fire hydrants, or along blue, yellow or red curbs;
• on grass, or on a sidewalk less than 3 feet wide.

Downtown has LADOT “Parking Zones”, shown in the apps. Bird’s app also bars parking at the Union Station forecourt, Grand Park, Little Tokyo, Crypto.com Arena, The Grove and Dodger Stadium.

Report a badly parked scooter to MyLA311: the operator must deal with it within two hours, 7 am to 10 pm. One left unmoved for five days can be impounded.

Metro, Union Station and LAX

Metro. Its code of conduct bans riding any wheeled device, kick scooters included, in stations and on trains and buses. Its carry-on rules cover bikes and e-bikes, not scooters, so end a shared ride outside the station. A ride costs $1.75 when you tap a bank card or phone, with free transfers for two hours and caps of $5 a day and $18 over seven days.

Union Station. The B and D lines start here. Bird’s app bars parking on the forecourt, so end your ride a block away.

LAX. Bird’s app blocks riding around the terminals, including LAX-it, the taxi and ride-app lot by Terminal 1. The LAX/Metro Transit Center at Aviation Boulevard and 96th Street, open since June 2025, lies outside that zone: it serves the C and K lines and has a bike hub, and free airport shuttles run from it to the terminals. LAX’s SkyLink train was still in testing on 17 October 2026, so take the shuttle.

Crossing into Santa Monica and Culver City

Both cities run their own programmes, with their own rules.

• Santa Monica. On the evening of 16 October 2026 the Santa Monica map, which also takes in Venice and other LA neighbourhoods next door, showed about 1,400 Bird and 540 Veo scooters. The City’s rules, updated in November 2025, make shared scooters shut off or slow to 1 mph on the Pier and Pier Bridge, Third Street Promenade, city parks, the beach bike path, Ocean Front Walk and the rest of the beach. End your ride in a drop zone shown in the app, and the operator must take $1 off; otherwise use the furniture zone.
• Culver City. The city’s page, last updated in March 2024, names only Bird and tells every rider to wear a helmet; the Culver City map, which also covers parts of LA around it, showed about 1,250 Bird and 60 Veo scooters.

Heat and night rides

• Heat. Metro warns that the sun is strongest from 10 am to 4 pm: carry water.
• Night. LADOT’s rules set no curfew, and rental scooters must keep their lights on.

The Los Angeles map shows the nearest Bird or Veo scooter and the walk to it.

Did you know?

• LADOT calls its pilot the largest dockless programme in the country. Launched in March 2019, it permitted 36,170 vehicles from eight operators.
• Rental shops near Ocean Front Walk must hand over their bikes and scooters at least 300 feet inland, under a 2022 city ordinance that spares the shared operators LADOT permits.
• LADOT may not hand scooter trip data to police without a subpoena, a warrant or a legal duty to do so, the Municipal Code has said since 2022.