Roanoke, VA Mobility & Curb Rules: Shared E-Scooter Rules (2026)

City Code Sec. 20-163, Permit requirement, prohibits operating a dockless mobility operation within the city's rights-of-way without a permit issued by the city manager, and it explicitly authorizes the city to confiscate the vehicles of any unpermitted operation. Sec. 20-131 defines a dockless mobility operation as a business that rents skateboards, scooters, or bicycles to users, where the vehicles are generally inoperable unless activated by a user authorized by the business operator, which covers the app-unlock shared scooter and e-bike model. Sec. 20-164, Permitting and permit requirements, puts the details in the city manager's hands rather than the code itself: the city manager develops and publishes the permit issuance process and the operating rules and regulations that apply as a condition of permitting, and the permit fee is set by city council as part of the city's fee compendium rather than fixed in the ordinance.

Because the operational rules (no-ride zones, parking corrals, fleet caps) are issued administratively under this permitting authority rather than spelled out in the chapter, an operator or rider needs the current permit terms from the city manager's office to know the specific zone and equipment rules in force at a given time; the ordinance itself only establishes that a permit is mandatory and that non-compliant vehicles are subject to seizure.