600 E-Scooters Coming To Fairfax County Under Mobility Program

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — The first two shared mobility device operators were approved to bring a total of 600 e-scooters to Fairfax County. LINK and Bird were approved for 300 devices each under the county's Shared Mobility Device program.

E-scooters are motorized devices that riders can use through e-scooter operators' mobile app. The Shared Mobility Device program regulating e-scooters was approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in November 2019, but this is the first time operators were approved to begin deploying e-scooters, also known as shared mobility devices. Surrounding jurisdictions have e-scooter programs, including DC, Arlington County, Alexandria and Fairfax City. A state law in 2019 allowed localities to regulate these devices.

Fairfax County's Department of Cable and Consumer Services is in charge of regulating the shared mobility devices. Operators must go through a permitting process to deploy devices. If approved, operators can deploy up to 300 devices initially, but this can be increased later to 600 depending on usage.

E-scooters are typically unlocked through the operator's mobile app. Riders may use e-scooters on highways, sidewalks, shared-use paths, roadways, or crosswalks in Fairfax County unless prohibited by signage. These devices cannot operate above 10 mph. Once a trip is complete, e-scooters must be parked in a location that does not impede foot or vehicular traffic and cannot be on private property or no-parking area. LINK’s e-scooters are geofenced to stay in an enforcement zone and ensuring compliance with speed limits and no parking zones.

The Department of Cable and Consumer Services will take reports of concerns about e-scooters, but e-scooter operators must remove improperly parked devices. Anyone who finds an e-scooter parked in an inappropriate place or on private property should contact the operator listed on the e-scooter. Issues about e-scooters and other shared devices can be reported to consumer@fairfaxcounty.gov.

For more information about each operator, visit the LINK and Bird websites. Bird has a Community Pricing Program offering a 50 percent discount to low-income riders, Pell grant recipients, select local nonprofit and community organizations, veterans, and senior citizens.

Visit Fairfax County's Shared Mobility Devices page for more information about the program.