Rent an electric scooter in Barcelona? Here’s how to do it
Since 2019, you can discover Barcelona by electric scooter. You can use a local provider for this, or a shared scooter.
Find out how this works, what it costs and what rules you need to consider.
The rules for using an e-scooter in Barcelona
As a driver of an electric scooter in Barcelona, you follow the same traffic rules as cyclists. In addition, you need to consider the following conditions:
- No minimum age has been set;
- The use of a helmet is not compulsory but recommended;
- There is no driving licence requirement;
- Drivers should ride on the cycle track (if available). If no bicycle lane is available, use the carriageway;
- It is forbidden to ride an e-scooter with more than one person;
- The use of a phone, headphones or earphones during a ride is prohibited;
- You are required to wear a reflective safety vest in poor visibility or when it is dark;
- It is not allowed to drive on the pavement, in tunnels or in pedestrian areas;
- It is not allowed to drive faster than 10 km/h through a public park;
- Parking is only allowed where it does not bother anyone. So not in front of entrances or exits and other places where pedestrians may be inconvenienced.
Note that fines for breaking the above rules vary between £88.13 and £440.67, depending on the severity of the offence.
This is how you can rent an e-scooter as a tourist
There are two ways you can use an electric scooter in Barcelona. Which option is the most advantageous depends on the duration of use:
- You rent an e-scooter for a day(part) through a local rental company.
- You use a share scooter. Here, you pay a starting rate and a rate per minute you ride. This is the most economical option if you are going to use the scooter for short rides.
Rent an e-scooter for a half day
Several local rental companies allow you to rent an e-scooter for a fixed period. In this case, you pay in advance for the number of hours you want to use the vehicle. The average rental price in Barcelona is £11.02 per hour. At the following rental companies you can book e-scooters online:
JetScoot
Address: C/ Sant Pere Més Baix 29, 08003, Barcelona
Price per hour: £8.81
Price for 3 hours: £22.03
Rent Electric
Address: Passeig de Lluís Companys 12, 08018, Barcelona
Price per hour: £13.22
Price for 2 hours: £26.44
Make use of a share scooter
The second option is to use an electric share scooter. You can find these vehicles throughout the city. Using a mobile app, you create an account and unlock a scooter.
The advantage of a share scooter is its flexibility: you start and stop the ride at your convenience and for as long as you want. You take advantage of this in the following way:
These share scooter providers operate in Barcelona
The largest provider of electric share scooters in Barcelona is Lime. To use Lime, you download the Lime app and pay a flat fee to unlock and use the scooter:
Lime
Cost: £0.88 for unlocking and £0.13 per minute for using it
This is how you benefit from free rides
Lime gives new drivers the opportunity to benefit from free rides. In the mobile app, you will find a personal referral code that you can share with others.
Once that person uses your code for their first ride, both of you will receive free credit. Here’s how it works:
