E-bikes are taking over the urban transportation landscape, but e-scooters are also an important player fighting for people's attention. If you're considering using an e-scooter ride-sharing service, you must know that there are quite a few choices. In addition, not all e-scooter ride-sharing companies offer the same benefits, and it's important to know the difference.

So, what are the best e-scooter ride-sharing companies?

What Is E-Scooter Ride Sharing?

E-scooter ride-sharing companies rent out electric scooters, usually in urban areas. These scooters are part of the micro-mobility craze that is taking over the urban transportation scene. Micro-mobility is a relatively new term encompassing small electric vehicles like e-scooters, e-skateboards, and e-bikes with limited top speeds. The interesting thing about these e-scooters is that they typically don't have a set spot where you pick them up. This means that they are scattered throughout a city, and you unlock them and then leave them at a proper parking location near your destination.

Having no specific drop-off point is great because you don't have to return the scooter to a station once you're finished with it. The companies that rent these scooters usually have apps, and you can unlock one of the e-scooters you want to ride using an app installed on your smartphone. Within the app, you can choose your payment method, and you'll also typically pay an "unlocking" fee to activate the e-scooter. After this, you'll typically pay a fee depending on how long you've used the scooter, be that for time or mileage.

E-scooter ride-sharing companies have various methods to recharge their scooters once they run out of batteries, with some charging the scooters themselves and other companies even paying people to charge the scooters for them. At the beginning of the e-scooter craze, municipalities were swarmed with tiny electric vehicles and didn't initially know how to handle them, especially when they were scattered throughout the city in a visually unappealing manner. But, now cities have mostly regulated this new form of transport, and using them is much more organized.

1. Lime

Lime is a ride-sharing company with e-scooters and electric bikes you can rent using their app. The e-scooters look very appealing, and the Gen3 and Gen4 electric scooters from Lime feature shocks for the front tires. This is super important, especially if you've ever ridden an e-scooter devoid of shocks, which provides one of the most jarring rides you'll ever encounter. The shock-less e-scooter's ride is so bad you'll feel your teeth rattling while riding over most terrains, even in relatively smooth areas.

The festive green color scheme on the Lime e-scooters is also great. It makes the scooters stand out way more than the dull color scheme offered by other companies. It's also nice that Lime has two different e-scooter models, the Gen3 and Gen4. The Gen4 e-scooters feature interchangeable batteries, which is a neat feature. Lime has a section dedicated to explaining how important safety is to their company as a whole, which is nice to see from a company that provides transportation to a huge number of people every year.

Our hardware designs draw on our more than 300 million rides served, making them the most road tested in the industry.

The fact that this company analyzes data from the rides they provide and then incorporates this information into the process of making their products safer is awesome. According to Lime, the price for riding their Gen3 e-scooter is $1 to unlock and then 15 cents for every minute. Because these prices come from their website, they're not necessarily set in stone, and you should expect your local prices to vary.

With e-scooter ride-sharing companies, if you're going to use them locally every single day, it might be a better investment to buy an e-bike upfront. The initial investment will go towards a bike you will own for a long time versus constantly paying money to rent a scooter. But, if you're visiting a city and want to explore, Lime is a great option.

Download: Lime for Android | iOS (Free Download, In-App Purchases)

2. Bird

Bird e-scooters are super popular, and you've likely seen their electric scooters pop up around your city as of late. The Bird app is very easy to use, and the integration with whatever payment method you choose is fairly easy.

Finding a scooter via GPS is a breeze, and using the e-scooter is also super simple. All you have to do is scan the scooter's QR code, and you're off. The only downside is the scooter's ride. The scooter I rode in my city was very uncomfortable, and the ride was horrible. That's the only negative remark regarding Bird's service. I wasn't expecting the tiny scooter to ride like a Lucid Air, but the ride was unacceptably bad.

Download: Bird for Android | iOS (Free Download, In-App Purchases)

3. Razor

Razor isn't necessarily the first name that comes to mind when it comes to electric scooter ride-sharing, but they offer a decent service with nice-looking e-scooters. In addition, the bright red color scheme will make you noticeable to others while riding, which is very important.

In terms of using the service, it's also easy and very similar to its competitors. You download the app, provide basic info, and scan your driver's license. According to Razor, the whole process is as simple as it gets, and prices will vary depending on your location.

To get started, simply download the app, scan your driver’s license and credit card. Then you are ready to scoot.

Download: Razor Micromobility for Android | iOS (Free Download + In-App Purchases)

What's the Best E-Scooter Ride-Sharing Company?

These services are very convenient but expensive. If city-dwellers adopt personal modes of electrified transport, such as e-bikes, these services might not survive. However, we suspect there will always be a market for personal transport, especially for those in a new city.