Shared e-mopeds, e-bikes and cargo bikes available in Rotterdam

Rotterdam’s shared electric vehicles have become a familiar part of the streetscape. They can be useful when your own bicycle is unavailable, when public transport does not take you quite far enough, or when you need to carry children or bulky shopping without taking a car.

The city’s current line-up consists of Check and Felyx e-mopeds, Lime and Felyx e-bikes, and BAQME electric cargo bikes. Availability changes throughout the day, so you should always consult the provider’s live map before planning your journey.

Below is an overview of the main options available today and how the rules around them work.

Shared e-mopeds from Check and Felyx

Felyx also operates shared e-mopeds in Rotterdam, while its app shows the models currently available near you. Check lists both Rotterdam and Schiedam among its operating locations. Service boundaries are controlled digitally and can change, so make sure your destination is inside the area where the app allows you to end a journey.

Licence, helmet and road rules

You need an AM moped licence, or a valid car or motorcycle licence, to ride a shared e-moped.

An approved helmet is compulsory for the rider and any passenger, including on a blue-plate 25 km/h vehicle.

Blue-plate snorfietsen normally use the cycle path and may travel at no more than 25 km/h. Yellow-plate bromfietsen may not use an ordinary cycle-only path. They use a combined cycle and moped path where one is provided, or the roadway where it is not. The maximum is 45 km/h on the road, 30 km/h on a combined path inside a built-up area, and 40 km/h outside a built-up area. Road signs always take priority.

Rotterdam does not have shared stand-up e-steps

The word scooter can cause confusion in English. Rotterdam’s shared scooters are seated mopeds, not the stand-up e-steps seen in many other European cities.

Dutch law allows only approved e-step models on public roads. Most e-steps on sale are not approved and may not be used on roads, cycle paths or pavements. Approved motorised e-steps must have a registration plate, insurance and the required road equipment.

Shared e-bikes from Lime and Felyx

Lime and Felyx operate shared electric bicycles in Rotterdam.

Lime’s green e-bikes are located and hired through the Lime app. They provide pedal assistance up to 25 km/h. The 9292 app can show Lime bikes and include one in a planned journey, but you still need the Lime app to hire and unlock the bicycle.

Felyx offers blue shared e-bikes through the same app used for its e-mopeds. The company currently advertises more than 1,000 e-bikes in Rotterdam.

Under Dutch traffic law, an ordinary e-bike with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h does not require a driving licence, registration plate or compulsory helmet. Operators may impose their own minimum age and account requirements. Lime, for example, requires riders to be at least 18.

Electric bicycles: Lime available in Rotterdam

Electric bicycles: Felyx available in Rotterdam

How many shared e-bikes are permitted?

Rotterdam has a citywide ceiling of 3,000 shared bicycles and e-bikes.

In the initial long-term allocation that began in February 2025, Lime received permission for 1,150 bikes and Felyx for 850. Lime temporarily had another 500 bikes under an older permit, producing the widely reported figure of 1,650. That older permission expired on 6 October 2025.

The city later opened a separate selection round for the remaining 1,000 spaces. Because the publicly accessible municipal information does not provide a clear current operator-by-operator total following that later round, you should treat fleet numbers published in older announcements as historical snapshots rather than permanent figures.

Electric cargo bikes from BAQME

BAQME operates shared electric cargo bikes in Rotterdam. Its bikes have a front box that can be used for children, shopping, pets or other loads, subject to the operator’s safety and weight conditions.

You create an account, find and reserve a bike, open its lock and end the journey through the BAQME app. Rotterdam and Schiedam are listed as flexible drop-off areas, although you must still follow the zones shown in the app.

BAQME began operating in Rotterdam in 2021. Its Rotterdam permit has been extended to 2030. It is now the city’s current shared electric cargo-bike operator following Cargoroo’s disappearance from the market after a bankruptcy filing in December 2024.

Parking and transport hubs

Rotterdam is distributing more than 200 shared-mobility hubs around the city. These are marked places where shared e-mopeds, e-bikes and cargo bikes can be parked.

Within approximately 200 metres of a hub, an operator’s app may require you to park inside it before ending your journey. Outside these geofenced areas, street parking may still be possible where it is legal and does not obstruct anyone. The app is the final guide, because it shows mandatory parking areas and places where you cannot end a ride.

Leave enough room for pedestrians, wheelchair users and people with prams. Do not block tactile paving, cycle lanes, crossings, public-transport stops, building entrances or emergency access. Lime specifies at least 1.2 metres of clear pavement and requires an end-of-trip photograph.

Special parking arrangements may be introduced around major events. Event organisers are expected to include shared mobility in their transport plans, with designated places intended to prevent vehicles accumulating at entrances.

Rotterdam’s permit system

Rotterdam limits the citywide shared fleet to:

• 3,000 e-mopeds
• 3,000 bicycles and e-bikes
• 750 electric cargo bikes

Operators are selected on quality rather than simply being admitted in order of application. The assessment can cover maintenance, reliability, complaints, parking management and measures intended to reduce nuisance. Check and Felyx each received an initial allocation of 1,500 e-mopeds under the permit system that began in February 2025.

No new application window is currently open for shared e-mopeds, e-bikes or cargo bikes. Rotterdam may open another round if a provider leaves or space becomes available, but you should not assume that additional operators are about to enter the market.

Shared transport at Rotterdam The Hague Airport

Rotterdam The Hague Airport has a shared-mobility hub directly in front of the terminal. The airport advises passengers to check availability and install the relevant provider’s app before travelling.

Before you ride

Check the live service area and your destination before unlocking a vehicle. Make sure you have the correct licence for an e-moped, inspect the vehicle, follow the plate-specific road rules and park only where the app allows you to finish. Prices, fleet sizes, parking zones and promotional passes can change quickly. The operator’s app provides the most reliable information at the moment you travel.