E-scooters in Tempe: Lime and Bird, the rules, and where you can’t ride

Which e-scooter apps work in Tempe?

Since a City Council resolution of 10 January 2019, every company running shared scooters in Tempe has needed a right-of-way use licence for its “shared active transportation vehicles”. The City Code sets no cap on how many scooters a company may run, though the licence itself may set limits.

• Lime: stand-up scooters in the Lime app.
• Bird: stand-up scooters in the Bird app.

Downtown Tempe’s website says both are available throughout the district. At 12:25 on 17 October 2026 the Tempe map showed about 835 Lime and 700 Bird scooters, some 1,530 in all: what was on the map at that moment, not the fleets.

Visiting? Install the Lime or Bird app and add a way to pay before you set out. Lime takes credit, debit and prepaid cards. New to this? See how to rent an e-scooter.

How much does a scooter cost in Tempe?

Neither company publishes a Tempe price, so check the app: it shows the rate when you tap a scooter or scan its QR code. Lime charges an unlock fee plus a rate per minute that can vary by place and time of day, rounds ride time up to the next full minute, and may add a city’s or university’s permit fee.

Bird’s Community and Access Pricing gives discounted rides to people aged 65 or over, US veterans, people on Medicaid or SNAP, and people who get an income-based discount on a utility bill.

Tempe e-scooter rules: age, helmets, sidewalks and speed

Arizona law gives an e-scooter rider the rights and duties of a cyclist, asks for no licence, registration or insurance, sets no age or helmet rule, and lets cities add their own. Tempe adds them in Chapter 19 of its City Code, last amended by Ordinance O2026.33, in force since 25 July 2026. Breaking the riding rules in its Article XIX is a civil traffic violation with a minimum fine of $100.

Older articles may quote 20 mph on paths: Ordinance O2026.33 cut that to 15 mph.

Mill Avenue, Tempe Town Lake and ASU: where you can’t ride

• Mill Avenue and downtown. Downtown Tempe’s 2019 riding guide lists bike lanes on Mill Avenue, Rio Salado Parkway, Ash Avenue, 5th Street/Veterans Way, College Avenue and University Drive, so their sidewalks are off-limits. It says the other downtown streets are posted at 25 mph or less: ride in the street there, not on the sidewalk. On 22 October 2026 Bird’s open data set no zone on Mill Avenue between University Drive and the lake.
• Tempe Town Lake and Tempe Beach Park. In a City park you may ride only on the paths and roads, and on the multi-use paths around the lake the limit is 15 mph. On 22 October 2026 Bird’s open data left the main lakeside paths open but marked patches beside them as no-ride, among them parts of Tempe Beach Park, North Beach and Moeur Park, and further north parts of Papago Park.
• ASU’s Tempe campus. ASU’s Campus Transportation Code bans motorised scooters from the campus and its buildings: riding one is a $30 violation, $60 inside a building, and the officer may impound it. ASU’s transport office also closes its walk-only zones to every wheeled vehicle from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday (the policy text, last revised in 2019, says 4 pm). On 22 October 2026 Bird’s open data marked most of the campus as no-ride, from Hayden Library and Palm Walk to Mountain America Stadium, and Hayden Butte beside it.
• Lime’s zones. Lime publishes none: check its app’s map before you set off. The live map shows where scooters are now.

These are Bird’s own zones, not City rules, and can change: the app has the final word.

Parking a scooter in Tempe

The City Code lets you leave a scooter on a sidewalk or path only if it doesn’t block or slow people walking, in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Bird asks you to park in a designated zone, take a photo to end the ride, and keep sidewalks, ramps and building entrances clear; it says blocking access “is subject to fees”.

Downtown Tempe says its Tempe TRiP app shows the scooter corrals in the district. On 22 October 2026 Bird’s data also marked Arizona Mills, part of Kiwanis Park and dozens of smaller spots across the city as no-parking: you can’t end a ride there.

Light rail, the streetcar and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

Light rail and streetcar. Valley Metro’s light rail stops twice downtown, at 3rd Street/Mill Avenue and at the Transportation Center, and the Tempe Streetcar serves 14 stops on a 3-mile route every 15 to 20 minutes, Downtown Tempe says. End a shared scooter ride before you board: you pay until the app confirms it has ended. ASU’s transport office says a folded scooter of your own may ride the light rail under the seat; that is ASU’s note, not a Valley Metro rule. The City Code bans riding on or across the light rail tracks and platforms, except in a marked crosswalk at a signalised intersection.

Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX). The free PHX Sky Train runs 24 hours a day between the terminals and the light rail at 44th and Washington streets. On the morning of 22 October 2026 no Bird or Lime scooter stood within a mile of that station, so take the train to Mill Avenue and pick one up there.

Riding at night and in the summer heat

Neither the City Code nor Bird’s data sets night hours for scooters, but City parks close from 10 pm to 6 am, apart from the sidewalks and streets through them, unless signs say otherwise. After dark you need front and rear lights, and Lime asks riders to take extra care.

Summer is the hard season. Heat is the deadliest weather in Arizona, says the National Weather Service’s Phoenix office: carry water and drink even if you don’t feel thirsty, avoid alcohol, and wear light-coloured clothing, a hat and sunscreen. The City of Phoenix’s heat office adds: plan time outdoors for the coolest part of the day and take frequent breaks. Check the battery before you set off, as Lime suggests: in the heat, a flat scooter means a walk in the sun.

Phoenix next door

Phoenix runs its own programme: the City permits the companies, and its page names Lime and Spin. The City asks you to park upright in the designated spots, keep 5 feet clear, stay off the sidewalk and be at least 18. The Phoenix map shows Spin only: Lime publishes no open data for Phoenix, so open the Lime app to find its scooters there.

Did you know?

• ASU said no early on. In October 2018 ASU reminded the scooter companies that its code bans motorised scooters, and Bird and Lime turned the whole Tempe campus red in their apps.
• Every scooter has a number. Arizona law requires an ID of letters or digits on each e-scooter, visible from at least 5 feet: note it if you need to report one.
• Batteries stay outside. A small e-scooter fire broke out in Hayden Library on 28 September 2026; no one was hurt. ASU bans e-bikes and scooters from all its buildings.