E-scooters in Reykjavik: Hopp prices, the rules, parking and winter

Electric scooter rental in Reykjavik: Hopp and Bolt

Hopp, an Icelandic company, has rented e-scooters in Reykjavik since September 2019. Its area now covers the whole capital region, Reykjavik plus Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær and Seltjarnarnes, so one ride can cross from town to town. The same app books Hopp’s taxis and shared cars.

Bolt has also run e-scooters in Reykjavik since 9 August 2024, and the city named it as an operator in July 2025. It publishes no public data, so it isn’t on our map, and we couldn’t confirm that it still runs them in October 2026: check the Bolt app. Zolo stopped in early 2025.

On the morning of 13 October 2026 the map of Reykjavik showed about 2,200 Hopp scooters across the capital area: one moment, not the size of the fleet, and without Bolt. New to shared scooters? See how to rent an e-scooter.

Under city rules in force since 4 February 2026, each company needs a contract with the city, and there’s no cap on scooter numbers. The city may limit rental hours but hadn’t by October 2026, so you can rent around the clock.

How much does a Hopp scooter cost in Reykjavik?

You pay a fee to start, then by the minute; the app shows the final price.

An adult single fare on Strætó, the city bus, is ISK 690 (since 6 January 2026), so a short hop by scooter costs less than the bus and a 20-minute ride more.

Hopp Passes drop the start fee and lower the per-minute rate. You buy them in the app, they’re valid only in the area where you bought them, and only the app shows their prices. Travelling with friends? Hopp’s group ride lets one account unlock up to four scooters.

Can you ride e-scooters in Iceland? The rules in short

Yes, and visitors follow the same rules as everyone else. Since summer 2024, e-scooters have been a vehicle class of their own in Iceland’s Road Traffic Act. The essentials:

Samgöngustofa, the Icelandic Transport Authority, puts fines for breaking the rules at ISK 20,000, and the fines regulation takes a quarter off if you pay within 30 days. Riding over the alcohol limit can mean a fine or up to two years in prison, but not the loss of your driving licence.

Helmets are rare on rentals: about 6% of rental riders wear one, against 51% of people on their own scooters (Samgöngustofa, June 2026).

Where can you ride? Laugavegur, pavements and no-ride zones

Use a cycle path where there is one. On pavements and footpaths pedestrians always come first, and on the road stick to streets with a limit of 30 km/h or lower.

In 2020 three central streets became permanent pedestrian streets: Laugavegur from Klapparstígur to Þingholtsstræti, Skólavörðustígur, the rainbow street towards Hallgrímskirkja, between Laugavegur and Bergstaðastræti, and Vegamótastígur. You may ride there, but no faster than walking pace. The city’s 2026 rules also make the companies keep scooters to 10 km/h on pedestrian streets and primary-school grounds, so the app may slow you down.

Hopp’s map shows its zones in colour: red means no riding, white no parking, yellow slow and green a discount; black or grey is outside the area, where the scooter stops. A red P marks a spot where you must park, a blue % a discount spot.

In Hopp’s data on 13 October 2026, the no-ride zones included about 20 school grounds, the old Hólavallagarður cemetery on Suðurgata, the Sundahöfn container port, Hafnarfjörður harbour, and the Nesvöllur golf course and Bakkatjörn nature reserve on Seltjarnarnes. Zones change, so check the app.

Where to park near Harpa, Hallgrímskirkja and the Old Harbour

You can ride past these places but not end a ride there. In Hopp’s data on 13 October 2026, the no-parking zones included:

• Harpa, the concert hall, and the seafront path along Sæbraut past the Sun Voyager (Sólfarið);
• the square in front of Hallgrímskirkja;
• Austurvöllur, the square by Parliament, and City Hall with the edge of the Tjörnin pond;
• Ægisgarður, the Old Harbour pier where whale-watching boats leave, and Marshallhúsið on Grandi;
• Skarfabakki, the cruise-ship and Viðey ferry pier, and BSÍ, the coach terminal;
• Höfði house, Nauthólsvík beach, the Öskjuhlíð woods, the Botanic Garden in Laugardalur and Grótta on Seltjarnarnes.

Anywhere else, leave the scooter where nobody trips over it: not mid-pavement, not on a cycle path or ramp, and not at a crossing, a junction or a building entrance.

Parking hubs. The city requires companies to reward parking in marked spots with a discount, credit or a free start. There were nine hubs on city land in spring 2026, and on 6 May 2026 the city approved 20 new or rebuilt ones, among them Lækjartorg, Ingólfstorg, Hlemmur and the Skólavörðuholt car park by Frakkastígur, near Hallgrímskirkja. Not all may be built yet.

Take the photo when you end a ride: the city’s 2026 rules require one after every ride, and Hopp can charge €30 if it’s missing. A scooter left outside the service area can cost €50 within 20 km, and up to €500 further away.

Reykjavik e-scooters in winter: darkness, wind and ice

Hopp runs all year in the capital area but has shrunk the area in winter. Its winter scooters have had studded tyres: Hopp said so in December 2023, and local press reported in January 2026 that studded scooters had served Reykjavik for the last two winters. The set-up for winter 2026–27 hadn’t been announced by 13 October 2026; the app shows the area.

Around the winter solstice the sun rises at about 11:20 am and sets at about 3:30 pm, so you’ll ride with your lights on much of the day.

Hopp’s terms make you adjust to the conditions, ice included, and its cruising mode caps the scooter at 15 km/h. The flat seafront paths along Sæbraut and Ægisíða are exposed to the wind: in a storm, take the bus.

Further north, in Akureyri, Hopp has taken its scooters off the streets from early November until April, though about 50 studded ones stayed out on trial in winter 2025–26.

Keflavík Airport, BSÍ and the Strætó bus

Keflavík Airport (KEF) is about 50 km from Reykjavik, and you can’t ride a scooter between the two. Hopp does run in Reykjanesbær, the town by the airport, but the terminal and its car park are outside the area: in Hopp’s data on 13 October 2026 the nearest scooters were about 1.6 km away, at Ásbrú.

Visit Reykjavík suggests a Hopp taxi for the drive, booked in the same app. Riding to BSÍ for a Flybus coach? End the ride before you get there: the terminal sits inside a large no-parking zone, so allow for a short walk.

Strætó’s rules don’t mention e-scooters: you may bring what you can carry on your own, and bikes only if there’s room, so end your rental before you board. An adult single fare is ISK 690, valid for 75 minutes.

Sightseeing by scooter, Culture Night and alternatives

• Harpa to Laugardalur: the seafront path along Sæbraut is flat and passes the Sun Voyager; just don’t end your ride at the sculpture or at Harpa.
• Hallgrímskirkja: the church stands on a hill above the centre. Climb the pedestrian part of Skólavörðustígur at walking pace, and park away from the square.
• Old Harbour and Grandi: good for a ride, but you can’t end it on Ægisgarður, the whale-watching pier.
• Culture Night (Menningarnótt): on 22 August 2026 scooter speed was lowered in the centre, and rides could start and end only at set spots, such as BSÍ and Skúlagata 6. Expect a similar set-up each year, though the spots can change.
• New Year’s Eve: keep scooters away from the fireworks crowd around Hallgrímskirkja.

We found no public bike share running in Reykjavik in October 2026. Bike rental shops and seasonal guided e-scooter tours, for riders aged 20 and over, fill some of the gap.

Did you know? Reykjavik e-scooter facts

• It started with 60 scooters. On 27 September 2019 Hopp put 60 scooters on the streets between Grandi, Kringlan and Laugardalur, at ISK 100 to start and ISK 30 a minute.
• 579 times around the Earth. In seven years Hopp’s capital-area scooters and cars have made 11.5 million trips and covered 23.2 million km, by Hopp’s own figures (October 2026).
• The night ban that never came. In 2021 a report for the city suggested closing rentals on Friday and Saturday nights. Hopp called the idea “alveg galið”, completely crazy, and no ban followed, although most crashes that summer happened between 11 pm and 5 am on weekend nights.
• From scooters to casinos. After Zolo closed in early 2025, its old web address began promoting online casinos.