Where To Rent An Electric Scooter In Amsterdam – Rules, Costs, And Providers! (In 2022)

The electric scooter in Amsterdam has to deal with even more complicated legislation than in the rest of the Netherlands. You can read exactly how that works below. 

But what should you consider if you want to rent (or buy) an e-scooter? And where can you rent these scooters?

Electric scooter in Amsterdam – rules

In the Netherlands, an e-scooter is legal if the RDW approves the means of transport. The device must be recognized as an ‘electric moped’ before you can drive it on public roads. Below you will find an overview of other rules in the Netherlands:

• When there is a bicycle lane, you must drive there.
• The RDW must approve the vehicle before you can use the public road.
• Above a speed limit of 25 km/h, you must wear a helmet.
• The driver must be at least 16 years old.
• Sometimes, you even need to have a driver’s license, for example when using a Segway or a Swing Trike.
• For a motorized moped (a moped with a combustion engine or electric motor) you need a moped driver’s license.
• As a driver of an e-scooter, you have to drive on the right as much as possible.
• You have to have insurance on the e-scooter.

It must also comply with the legislation :

• The electric scooter may not drive faster than 25 km/h.
• The vehicle must have a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 wheels.
• The scooter must be equipped with red, white, or yellow reflectors.
• The central government must recognize the e-scooter as a special moped.
• Lighting on the scooter is mandatory in bad weather or when it is dark.
• The scooter must have an electric motor with a maximum power of 4 kW or a combustion engine with a cylinder capacity of a maximum of 50 cm3.
• The scooter must be insured with an insurance plate and a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

Fines

If you drive around on an unapproved electric scooter, there is a chance that you can be arrested. The police have the right to fine you 260 euros and to confiscate the e-scooter.

Where can you drive in Amsterdam?

There are a number of places in Amsterdam where you are absolutely not allowed to drive your e-scooter, such as certain bicycle paths. In the image above you can see exactly which bike lanes, you can use with a legal e-scooter. In practice you see the e-scooters driving everywhere, but remember that you fine risk

Renting an electric scooter in Amsterdam

In the US, you have many apps to rent an e-scooter. Think for example of Lime, an app where you can rent e-scooters for $0.15 per minute. You also have Bird, where you only pay $1 per ride. However, there are no apps yet to rent an e-scooter in Amsterdam.

The latter app, Bird, is now being tested in Amsterdam, but there are no real plans yet. The municipality of Amsterdam currently has doubts about safety in public transport.

It is therefore not yet possible to rent an electric scooter in Amsterdam. 

Renting an electric moped in Amsterdam

What you can rent if you want to discover Amsterdam by electric vehicle is rent an electric moped.

The two providers for this are Felyx and Check.

Felyx offers shared electric mopeds on a ride basis, for €0.30 per minute. You can easily use Felyx via their app for Apple and Android.

Check charges 25 cents per minute (€0,25), with a starting fee of 75 cents (€0,75). They also have an app for Apple and Android.

What to look out for in Amsterdam

The beautiful center of Amsterdam requires a certain driving skill. With an electric scooter there are two challenges that you have to take extra into account when riding in the city center::

• Lots of paving stones (very slippery when wet)
• Many (really steep) bridges

All those bridges in Amsterdam are beautiful of course, but it does make riding a scooter a challenge.

In addition, you have to deal with the large crowds in the city center of Amsterdam.

The most important thing to take into account is of course the ban on e-scooters in Amsterdam. You risk a hefty fine if you drive around on an unapproved vehicle and you are not insured if you have an accident.

Discovering Amsterdam by electric scooter

Whether you drive around on a regular or an electric scooter in Amsterdam, there is plenty to discover. For example, with a non-electric scooter I can heartily recommend:

• Het Amsterdamse Bos: an oasis of nature in our busy capital, where you can ride around on your scooter for hours.
• ‘T Twiske: a beautiful nature reserve just north of the Ring, near Amsterdam and Zaandam.