Can Kids Ride Lime and Bird Scooters?

Jul 30, 2019

2 min read

Calgary is now home to e-scooters from two companies, Lime and Bird. These scooters are a fun way to get around the city and have even made accessibility better for seniors and people with disabilities. But can kids ride scooters? For the answer to this question I went straight to the source and talked to representatives from both companies.

Photography by Kris Krug

Can kids ride scooters?

Both Lime Scooters and Bird Scooters confirmed that you have to be 18+ to ride their scooters. With the rapid increase in ER numbers since the launch of e-scooters in Calgary it’s easy to see why. These scooters can go fast, really fast, and while both companies have clear guidelines on how to use them – guidelines that coincide with Calgary laws and by-laws – many users still seem unsure of where and how to ride.

Children are not permitted to ride Lime electric scooters. Our policy is 18+. -Chris Schafer Sr. Director, Strategic Development, Lime (Canada)

Best Scooter For Kids

While it may be disappointing that you and your kids can’t rip around on e-scooters around Calgary, there ARE still some great scooter options for kids. The fact that they have to power themselves means they will always be in control, and will get lots of exercise.

Personally, Clara has a scooter that we got at a neighbours garage sale. It’s a three wheel’d scooter that is a great first scooter to get her comfortable with it (like the Razor Jr. Lil’ Kick Scooter). As she gets older the best scooter for her looks like it’s the Razor A3 Kick Scooter. It can support riders up to 143 lbs (oddly specific lol), features a rear fender break and has a folding mechanism to make it easy to carry.

If you don’t want to fork out $70 or more for a new scooter for your child, then Kijiji is always a great place to look for a used option. As I write this there is a number of great options for as little as $10.

Of course you should ALWAYS have your child wearing a helmet when on a scooter. Scooters are fun, brain injuries are not.

So for those wondering if their kids can ride the new Lime and Bird scooters, unfortunately they can not. But while your kids aren’t able to ride electric scooters around Calgary, there’s still nothing stopping them from riding regular scooters and getting out and enjoying time as a family.

If you’d like to get on a scooter (maybe a scooter date??) check out this complete guide to Lime and Bird electric Scooters in Calgary.