Chicago E-Scooter Rules: Where You Can Ride, Age, Speed and Parking

The city sets the terms for Chicago’s shared scooter fleets. Park districts and forest preserves set their own rules for the paths they manage, and a new Illinois law adds state rules for e-bikes.

Where you can ride

Chicago’s shared scooters are for streets and bike lanes. Scooters cannot be operated on sidewalks.¹ Divvy tells riders to use the street or a bike lane.⁴

Three popular corridors are closed to them. Scooters cannot be operated on the Lakefront Trail, the 606 (Bloomingdale Trail) or the Chicago Riverwalk.¹ Park districts, forest preserves and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources can set their own rules for paths and trails, including speed limits and which devices they allow.²

On the road, riders follow the same rules as everyone else. They must obey traffic lights, stop signs and one-way streets, and they must yield to pedestrians.¹ Only one person may ride a scooter at a time.¹

For the bike-lane network scooters share with cyclists, see Chicago bike lanes.

Age, speed and hours

Rule	Shared scooters
Minimum age	18, or 16 with parent or guardian consent1
First trip speed	10 mph maximum1
Top speed	15 mph maximum1

The two sources disagree on age. CDOT, the regulator, says 18, or 16 with consent.¹ Divvy’s page says riders must be 16 or older.⁴ Follow the city’s rule when you rent from any operator.

Divvy recommends a helmet, gradual braking and alertness in traffic.⁴

Parking rules

Parking draws the fines.

• Park in the public right-of-way, upright, with both wheels on the ground.¹
• Leave a clear path at least 5 feet wide on the sidewalk.¹
• Do not park along building facades or block fire hydrants, bus stops, CTA L entrances, loading zones or building access points.¹
• End the trip by locking to a fixed object such as a bike rack, retired meter, street sign or light pole.¹
• Do not lock to private fences, bus shelters, bus stop signs, disabled parking signs or inside CTA L stations.¹

Divvy charges $25 for a parking violation.⁴ Parking outside a Divvy station adds $1.20 for members and $2.40 for non-members.⁴ To report a badly parked scooter, use 311. Vendors have two hours to fix a parking complaint.¹

What it costs

Divvy publishes its scooter prices.

Plan	Unlock	Per minute
Non-member	$1.004	$0.444
Annual member	Free4	$0.294
Divvy for Everyone	Free4	$0.104

All prices exclude tax.⁴

How the system is set up

The City Council created a scooter-sharing license category in October 2021, with up to 3 two-year licenses.¹ Each license holder pays $1 per device per day, upfront for the full term, plus a personal property lease tax equal to 9% of trip revenue.¹ Divvy added scooters to its fleet and became the first docked bike and scooter share system in the country.¹

The Illinois law that takes effect in 2027

Governor Pritzker signed SB 3484 on August 26, 2026. It establishes tiered compliance and regulation requirements for e-bikes, gas-powered bicycles and motor-driven cycles, and it takes effect January 1, 2027.³

Ride a faster machine, such as an e-bike, and the rules differ again. Read Illinois e-bike laws and Divvy scooters. When a rule says the sidewalk is off limits, see riding on the sidewalk in Chicago. The full list sits in the laws hub.