Chicago is launching a safety campaign for e-scooters in the wake of expected record ridership and recent scooter-related deaths.
The campaign, led by Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Transportation, aims to improve rider behavior, reduce sidewalk riding and strengthen parking compliance ahead of peak riding season, according to a city news release. The campaign includes new rider safety messaging across the city, expanded scooter parking and bike infrastructure and stronger compliance requirements for operators and riders that will include stronger parking standards and expanded sidewalk-riding detection technology.
“E-scooters are an increasingly popular way for Chicagoans to get around, and as ridership grows, so does our responsibility to make sure our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone,” Johnson said in a news release. “We’re bringing together education, infrastructure and accountability to support safer riding, reduce conflicts on sidewalks and ensure shared mobility works for all Chicagoans.”
More than 200 new Divvy stations are planned citywide to improve parking options, and more than 100 miles of bikeways have been added since 2023, officials said.
“Divvy and Lime scooters are an important part of Chicago’s transportation network, and our responsibility is to make sure that system works safely and effectively for everyone,” said CDOT acting Commissioner William Cheaks Jr. “This campaign responds to feedback we’ve heard from residents and community stakeholders and reflects our commitment to safer streets, stronger accountability and treating shared micromobility as essential transportation infrastructure.”
So far, more than 1 million Lime and Divvy e-scooter trips have been taken throughout Chicago in 2026, city officials said. Last year, more than 7 million trips were taken — a record in e-scooter usage for the city.
At least two trips taken on e-scooters have ended tragically this year. 17-year-old Astrid Alexandra Carrillo Noguera and 15-year-old Violet Harris were both killed in accidents roughly a month apart on the South Side this spring. Both were struck by vehicles while riding e-scooters.
Critics have voiced safety concerns over the e-scooters as riders faced injuries varying from bumps and bruises to life-altering — and sometimes fatal — injuries.
With no official citywide tally of e-scooter-related deaths and injuries, scooter advocates said a combination of responsibility from riders and e-scooter organizations and enforcement from police would help prevent crashes.