Shared Scooters and Bikes Blocking Sidewalks in San Diego: How to Report

Rental e-scooters and bikes that you unlock with an app are called shared mobility devices in the City of San Diego's rules. They are covered by Municipal Code Chapter 8, Article 3, Division 3, which includes motorized scooters, electric bicycles, bicycles, motorized bicycles, electrically motorized boards and similar devices rented to the public through an app or other digital platform.

The code says it is unlawful to run a shared mobility business in the City without a written contract with the City. Each provider must give the City a local point of contact for retrieving its devices, keep its devices in good working order, and label every scooter with a device ID number (four to six digits) on both sides of the stem and the statement "Riding and parking on sidewalks is prohibited. One person allowed per device."

Which companies hold a City contract can change, so check the City's Bikes and Scooters pages for current information. Its discount programs page describes low-income ride programs offered by its permitted operators. The company's name is shown on each device.

• Get It Done. The City's Bikes and Scooters page links to Get It Done to "report a rideshare scooter issue," and the Get It Done portal has a Shared Mobility Device report type. The form asks for the location on a map, a description, and a photo of the surrounding area, and it needs your name, email and phone number so the City can follow up.
• What to include. Say exactly how the device is in the way, such as lying across a curb ramp, blocking a doorway or standing at a bus stop, and note the company name and the ID number on the stem. Get It Done covers locations inside the City of San Diego only.
• The company. Providers are responsible for picking up their own devices, and you can also report a problem through the company's own app or website. The City's rules do not let residents or businesses impound or remove a shared device from the public right-of-way.
• If it is an immediate hazard. Get It Done says to call 911 for emergencies and lists the police non-emergency line, 619-531-2000, for police non-emergencies.

Section 83.0310 of the Municipal Code sets where providers may park, stage or offer shared devices, and section 83.0308 requires geofencing, meaning GPS or similar technology that controls what a device can do inside an area.

No-parking zones. Providers must use geofencing so motorized scooters and bikes cannot be locked, parked or end a ride in the Petco Park zone or in these areas:

• Martin Luther King Promenade
• North and South Embarcadero pedestrian walk
• Piazza della Famiglia (West Date Street between India and Columbia streets)
• Ocean Front Walk in Mission Beach, from the South Mission Beach Jetty to Law Street in Pacific Beach
• Bayside Walk on the west side of Mission Bay Park
• The walkway on the east side of Mission Bay Park, from De Anza Road to South Shores Boat Launch and Park
• The La Jolla Shores boardwalk north of Avenida De La Playa
• The walkway along Ellen Browning Scripps Park, from Ocean Street to Coast Boulevard
• Children's Pool Plaza in La Jolla

For a parked car, truck or RV blocking a sidewalk or driveway, see our blocked driveways and illegal parking guide.

• One hour after the City's notice. Section 83.0311 says a provider must retrieve a device within one hour of notice from the City if it is inoperable or unsafe and on a City street, sidewalk or other City property; parked or offered in violation of the shared mobility rules or the Vehicle Code; or parked so that someone cannot safely rent or ride it.
• Blocking a ramp or accessible path. The City or its agents may impound a device it considers an imminent life safety hazard. The code says a device blocking an accessible path of travel or ramp, a vehicle travel lane or a transit lane may be one, and that impound in that case may be immediate, without notice.
• Other impounds. The City may also impound a device not retrieved within one hour of notice, or a non-operational device left in the right-of-way for more than 24 hours. Providers pay the City's enforcement, storage and impound fees and must collect impounded devices within 10 days. The City may also fine providers that violate the geofencing or parking rules after receiving notice.
• Removing devices yourself. Section 83.0312 makes it unlawful for anyone other than law enforcement, a City employee or a City-contracted agent to impound a shared device on public right-of-way or City property. Removing devices from private property is governed by the Vehicle Code.

• No motorized riding on sidewalks. The City's micromobility page says all micromobility vehicles except skateboards may ride in the street unless local rules prohibit it, and that electronic or motorized vehicles are prohibited from sidewalks. The Municipal Code also requires shared scooters and motorized bikes to be geofenced so they cannot be operated on City sidewalks, with a 3 mph sidewalk speed limit once the technology is proven to work across a provider's fleet.
• Boardwalk ban. Section 84.18 makes it unlawful to operate any motorized transportation device, rented or privately owned, on Ocean Front Walk from the South Mission Beach Jetty to Law Street in Pacific Beach, on Bayside Walk, on the east-side Mission Bay Park walkway from De Anza Road to South Shores, and on the La Jolla Shores boardwalk north of Avenida De La Playa. It does not apply to people with disabilities using a device or to City law enforcement.
• Slow zones and hours. Shared scooters and motorized bikes must be slowed to 8 mph or less on the public walkways of Balboa Park, Liberty Station NTC Park and Spanish Landing Park and Trail and in the Petco Park zone, and to 3 mph on the boardwalks and bay walks listed above. The rider's app must tell them about the reduced speed. Shared devices cannot be reserved or started between 12:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.
• Age, helmets and speed. The City's micromobility page lists, for e-scooters, a minimum age of 16, a helmet for riders under 18, a 15 mph speed limit, reflectors and lights, and riding in the street. Shared providers must ask users to upload a valid driver's license at least every three months and allow only one device per user at a time. For e-bikes, City sections 84.19 to 84.21, in effect since August 13, 2026, bar children under 12 from riding Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, require riders and passengers to follow the Vehicle Code helmet rules, and ban carrying a passenger unless the e-bike is built for one.

• Police. Riding on a sidewalk or boardwalk, or riding dangerously, is a traffic matter for the San Diego Police Department. Get It Done lists the police non-emergency line, 619-531-2000. If someone is hurt or in immediate danger, call 911.
• The company. The Municipal Code requires providers to use in-app enforcement to identify bad rider behavior and hold users accountable with fines and loss of riding privileges. Reporting the device ID number to the company lets it find the rider's account.
• Damaged sidewalk or street. If a raised or broken sidewalk is making it hard to walk or ride, see our sidewalk repair guide.

For other problems you can report to the City, see our guide to reporting a problem to the City of San Diego.