Lexington, KY Mobility & Curb Rules: Shared E-Scooter Rules (2026)

Chapter 17D of the LFUCG Code of Ordinances governs 'dockless vehicles', the electric scooters, bicycles and e-bikes companies deploy without fixed docking stations. Under § 17D-7, a licensed operator starts with a maximum of 400 electric motor-assisted scooters and may add increments of up to 200 more scooters per month, but only if the commissioner approves and if ridership on that company's existing fleet exceeds four rides per scooter per day, with any service issues the department has flagged being adequately resolved. Fleet growth is hard-capped: no licensee may operate more than 1,000 electric motor-assisted scooters anywhere in Lexington-Fayette County, no matter how strong ridership runs.

The rule cuts the other way too, if average ridership drops below two and one-half rides per scooter per day over the preceding month, the licensee must remove however many vehicles the commissioner determines. Bicycles and electric bicycles are treated differently: § 17D-7 places no numeric cap on them, though the commissioner may still order a reduction for public safety reasons after periodic review. LFUCG also reserves the right to limit where scooters can operate at all, keeping a map of the designated operating zone and any restricted sub-areas that the department updates from time to time; a company whose scooters turn up outside that zone, or inside a restricted zone, has violated § 17D-7 outright.

Beyond the caps, § 17D-5 lets the commissioner revoke or suspend a company's operating authority license for unauthorized deployment, missed fees, unpaid fines, or insurance and bond lapses, and a revoked licensee is locked out of reapplying for two years; § 17D-6 backs this with an equipment-inspection power letting LFUCG impound any noncompliant scooter.