Spin’s orange scooters disappeared from Albuquerque again in late July 2025. Spin told KOB 4 it would stop operating in the city starting Friday, July 25, 2025, and it would take back its 50 scooters. Spin said the “local operating environment has shifted,” and it said cities the size of Albuquerque often work best with one or two providers.
That one move changed what riders see day to day. It changed what downtown visitors can grab for a quick hop. It changed what the city has to manage, too.
What electric scooters are in Albuquerque right now
To start, here is the simple answer. If you search “electric scooter rental Albuquerque” today, you will mostly run into Lime and Beam.
The City of Albuquerque announced Lime’s rollout on December 2, 2024. The city said Lime began installing 52 e-scooter stations to support an incoming fleet of 500 e-scooters, and riders can find station locations and rental rates in the Lime app or the Uber app.
Next came Beam. The city announced Beam’s rollout on February 28, 2025. It said Beam would begin installing 65 stations on March 3, 2025, and the stations would support an incoming fleet of up to 1,000 e-scooters. The city added a detail riders remember fast, Beam scooters are painted purple.
So, if you are asking “What electric scooters are in Albuquerque,” the practical answer is Lime scooters and Beam scooters. Then, if you are asking “Spin scooters Albuquerque,” the answer is more blunt, Spin ended service again in July 2025.
“Only one company remains.” Not quite, but the market did shrink
A lot of people type “only one company remains” into Google after a pullout like this. I get it. When one brand vanishes overnight, it can feel like the whole program is collapsing.
Still, Albuquerque is not down to one provider. It is down to fewer providers.
By March 2025, the city said three vendors had permits, Spin, Lime, and Beam. It also said the combined system had 105 designated stations and more than 2,000 e-scooters.
Then Spin left. So now the city’s shared e-scooter scene leans on Lime and Beam, with a clear “one to two providers” shape, which matches what Spin argued when it announced its exit.
Where to rent, ride, and park without headaches
Now let’s talk about the part that affects real rides. Rules, parking, and where scooters can go.
Albuquerque runs this through its Shared Active Transportation Program. The city says e-scooters must follow the same rules that apply to bicycles, and it posts rider guidance in plain language.
Here are the big points, written the way riders feel them:
- Helmets are required for anyone under 18. Helmets are encouraged for everyone else, too.
- Ride on the right side of the street, and ride with the flow of traffic.
- Sidewalk riding is not allowed in several common situations, like business districts, or when there is a wide right lane, bike lane, or multi-use trail next to the road in your direction of travel.
- Park so you do not block the public right of way. That means no blocking ramps, bus stops, doors, or tight sidewalks.
Then there is enforcement. This is where Albuquerque got serious.
In March 2025, the city said it swept Nob Hill and the UNM area and impounded 38 improperly parked e-scooters. The city said vendors would be fined a $100 relocation fee plus a $200 per day storage fee per scooter.
That enforcement effort is not just a headline. It shapes how operators deploy scooters, and it shapes how fast they respond to reports from 311 and residents.
What the city charges operators, and why that matters to riders
Pricing in the app is one thing. City fees are another thing.
Albuquerque publishes a fee schedule for the program. It lists an annual permit fee of $4,000. It lists a station fee of $40 per station per year. It lists a $75 per small vehicle fee billed quarterly, and it lists a $0.10 per trip fee billed quarterly. It lists daily penalties for failures tied to damaged, abandoned, or improperly parked vehicles, plus removal and storage fees.
So, the city has real leverage. Then, operators have real costs. Then, riders feel the impact through availability, rebalancing, and the way companies push riders to end trips in stations.
If you want a quick reality check on how rules can change in other cities too, see this update on Mesa parks allowing e-scooters and e-bikes, with new helmet rules for kids starting Feb 11. It is a different city, yet the pattern is familiar, helmet rules and where you can ride often change first.
How big is the electric scooter market, really
Zoom out for a minute, since “How big is the electric scooter market” comes up in the same searches as “Albuquerque scooter rental.”
Across North America, shared micromobility is still growing by trips, even as companies narrow the list of cities they serve.
NABSA’s 2024 industry report says shared micromobility ridership in 2024 grew 31% to at least 225 million trips across North America, and it says 415 cities had one or more shared micromobility systems in 2024.
Then, for a U.S. snapshot, the U.S. Department of Energy says that in 2023 there were 133 million shared micromobility trips, with 65 million scooter-share trips and 68 million bike-share trips.
So the demand is there. Then the business side gets picky. Providers tend to stay where ridership, parking compliance, and operating costs line up.
What this means for Albuquerque riders in 2026
For now, plan around Lime and Beam.
Start by checking station locations in the Lime or Beam app. Then aim to end your ride at a designated station or approved area. After that, double-check your parking angle, since blocked sidewalks get reported fast in busy areas like Nob Hill and near UNM.
If you used Spin last year, this shift may feel annoying at first. Still, a two-provider setup can be simpler for riders, and it can be simpler for the city. That only works, though, when parking stays clean and scooters stay available outside the hottest blocks.
