PORTLAND, Ore. — Now that scooters have landed on Portland streets, there are several ways to ride around town car-free.
Here’s where to find a scooter, bike or e-bike for your next adventure. (Just don’t be that person who drops them off in the middle of a sidewalk.)
You’ll also need to wear a helmet. Either bring your own, or find out whether your rental of choice offers helmets for rent, too.
SCOOTERS
Portland launched a pilot program for e-scooters through November 20. So far three companies, Bird, Lime and Skip, have permits to rent out electric scooters in the city.
All three companies charge $1 to launch the rental and $0.15 per minute to ride.
Bird started renting scooters on Wednesday, July 25. Lime started renting on July 27. Skip said they will start renting sometime the week of Aug.1, but didn’t provide an exact date.
You can find and rent scooters from the companies by downloading their apps on your Smartphone.
E-BIKES
Electric bikes are also gaining popularity, with extra power to help you get up hills and across town without breaking too much of a sweat.
Two companies, Jump and Lime, launched a limited pilot program around the OHSU tram for e-bikes, but you will likely see more e-bike rentals around town soon. Right now, you can find Jump and Lime bikes in Southwest Portland. To rent a bike, download the Smartphone apps.
Jump costs $2/minute for the first 30 minutes, and $0.07/minute after that.
Lime costs $1 to unlock and $0.15/minute to ride.
Several local shops rent out e-bikes by the hour or day. Here are some options:
Cycle Portland, 117 NW 2nd Ave.
$15/hour, $50/day
River City Bikes, 706 NE MLK Jr. Blvd.
$80-$125/day
Pedego, 412 SW 2nd Ave.
$20-$30/hour, $100-$125/day (options include tandem and mountain bikes)
REGULAR BIKES
If you’d rather pedal yourself, regular bikes rentals are all over the city, too. Tons of bike shops rent out bikes by the day. The city’s Biketown program is probably the easiest way to find a pedal-powered ride, with 1,000 bikes at more than 100 locations around town.
Biketown has several pricing options: $0.08/minute with a one-time $5 startup fee, or monthly/yearly subscriptions at $19/$99 respectively with 90 minutes of ride time every day.
To sign up and find bikes, go to the Biketown website or download the Smartphone app.