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This page features snapshots of how BIKETOWN and e-scooters performed as a shared micromobility system in 2024. Here you will find milestones, ridership numbers, and information on all of the outreach we conducted in 2024.
Shared Micromobility Overview
In 2024, BIKETOWN saw a 15% decrease in ridership compared to 2023, where e-scooters saw a 7.6% increase in ridership year over year. Overall, users took 1.8 million trips on shared bikes and e-scooters in 2024, a 0.4% decrease compared to the year prior. Find more data about both systems on PBOT’s interactive micromobility dashboard. These snapshots provide an overview of program changes throughout the year including fleet sizes and number of BIKETOWN stations.
Shared micromobility refers to lightweight vehicles available for public use. In Portland, this refers to the BIKETOWN bike-share and e-scooter programs. Launched in July 2016, BIKETOWN is PBOT’s bike-share program. After extensive community engagement, PBOT opened Adaptive BIKETOWN in 2017 to serve people with disabilities and others unable or uncomfortable riding a conventional two-wheeled bicycle. In 2024, PBOT launched its first permanent e-scooter program contracting with BIKETOWN (Lyft) and Lime after piloting the program since 2018.
A major difference between the shared bike and scooter systems is their reach. With the launch of the city’s permanent e-scooter program in summer 2024, e-scooters operated citywide (145 square miles) with two companies—Lime and Lyft (BIKETOWN)—providing about 3,500 electric scooters between them. In contrast, BIKETOWN bikes can only be operated within a defined geographic boundary. When the bike system launched in 2016, this covered 8 square miles in the central city with 1,000 bikes. As of the end of 2024, BIKETOWN covered 45 square miles with over 230 stations and a 2,400 all e-bike fleet. Importantly, much of Southwest and parts of Southeast and East Portland are not included in the current bike-share service area.
PBOT pursued grant funding in 2024 to pilot e-mobility hubs. These hubs are places in a transportation network where people can access and make convenient connections between multiple services and travel options. The team was successfully awarded a $200,000 ODOT Innovative Mobility Program grant for policy development for curbside micromobility charging and a $2 million Joint Office Communities Taking Charge grant to pilot e-mobility hubs. Note: the Joint Office grant award is currently paused due to federal executive orders.
NIKE is BIKETOWN’s founding program partner and title sponsor. BIKETOWN for All is funded by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF). PBOT contracts with Lyft to operate BIKETOWN and with Albertina Kerr to operate Adaptive BIKETOWN.
E-Scooters by the Numbers
- Number of e-scooters: 3,500 e-scooters between two operators
- Service Area: 145 square miles (all of Portland)
- System trips in 2024: 1,254,500*
- All-time system trips (since 2018): 7,308,000*
- E-Scooter Equity Program trips in 2024: 131,000*
(*Approximate numbers)
E-Scooter Program Updates & Trends in 2024
- Launched permanent E-Scooter Program in August 2024 with Lime and BIKETOWN (Lyft)
- As a reminder, we went through an extensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process and two pilot periods with multiple different operators
- As part of the e-scooter launch, ran a summer public service announcement campaign about the new rules for locking e-scooters (i.e., “Ride it, Park it, Lock it”)
- E-scooter ridership increased by 7.6%
- E-scooter riders took over 1,000,000 trips in 2024 (third year in a row!)
- Awarded a $200,000 ODOT Innovative Mobility Program grant for policy development for curbside micromobility charging
E-Scooter 2024 Ridership
Trip Starts Heat Map
Below are the heat maps comparing 2024 e-scooter starts on the left, and 2024 BIKETOWN bike starts on the right. There are many differences in the programs and vehicles, including the service areas, but the concentration downtown for e-scooters is clear.
2024 Trip Distances
The median trip distance for e-scooters was approximately 0.85 miles, with 55% of trips less than 1 mile long. All 2024 e-scooter trips combined total 1,562,292 miles. That’s 62 laps around the Earth!
Transition from Pilot to Permanent E-Scooter Program
In fall 2020, the Portland City Council directed PBOT to do more outreach and to begin transitioning the pilot to a permanent program. Under the new program, PBOT would partner with the e-scooter industry, hiring one to two operators, more like the bureau's relationship with the city's BIKETOWN bike-share program. The bureau would extend current providers, as needed, through the transition to ensure there were no interruptions in e-scooter service.
PBOT responded to what it heard from the community. While PBOT heard a variety of feedback about e-scooters from Portlanders since 2018, PBOT conducted additional outreach to understand perspectives on different ways to manage a permanent program to ensure it benefits as many Portlanders as possible. This included feedback on cost and payment, rider education and behavior, parking requirements, safe infrastructure, complaints and customer service, and more.
PBOT extended the pilot through the pandemic until summer 2024 when the new permanent program launched. In that time, Portlanders and visitors rented e-scooters 5.8 million times. PBOT has used this wealth of data to assess whether e-scooters can help reduce congestion and air pollution, expand access for underserved Portlanders, and contribute to PBOT’s Vision Zero work to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries.
E-Scooters in the Community and Equity Programs
We helped bring e-scooters to the community in 2024 including a huge participation at Sunday Parkways, seated scooter options, and helmet giveaways. We are looking forward to collaborating with both operators in 2025 to increase the effectiveness of the different equity programs and opportunities to work with different communities.
Looking Forward to 2025
We are excited to continue working closely with the BIKETOWN team, Lyft, Lime, and all our community partners to increase ridership. Some other focus areas in 2025 include:
- Help reduce theft and loss of shared e-scooters
- Install more bike racks and corrals citywide with a focus on areas with less bike rack density (e.g., East Portland and Southwest).
- Improve locking compliance by both Lime and Lyft
- Grow ridership
- Begin long-term planning for the future of shared micromobility in Portland.