Appleton, WI Mobility & Curb Rules: Shared E-Scooter Rules (2026)

Appleton Municipal Code § 19-201 flatly prohibits the short-term commercial rental of electric scooters to the general public, citing the authority the state gives municipalities under Wis. Stat. § 349.237(4). The section defines 'electric scooter' by cross-reference to Wis. Stat. § 340.01(15ps), as that definition is amended over time, so the ban automatically tracks any future state redefinition of what counts as an electric scooter rather than freezing to the 2021-22 wording. Because the prohibition sits in Article V alongside the City's other bicycle and electric scooter rules, a dockless scooter-share company placing rental units on Appleton streets or sidewalks for short-term public use is violating the article even without a separate scooter-specific fine written into § 19-201 itself; § 19-162 sets the article's general penalty at not more than five dollars per violation, with removal of a bicycle registration tag for up to thirty days where applicable.

The ban does not reach personally owned electric scooters, which remain subject to the same rules of the road, sidewalk-riding and bicycle-lane provisions that apply to bicycles under the rest of Article V.