Bike Share

Updated: August 30, 2019

What is Bike Share?

Bike share lets you borrow a bike for a quick errand, a trip to Link light rail, an all-day adventure, and everything in between. You pick up the bikeshare bike closest to you, ride it to where you want to go, and leave the bike for the next person to ride.

How does it work?

Bike share in Seattle is run by three private vendors, Jump, Lime, and Lyft. The fastest way to start riding is to download the company’s app, and follow the instructions provided.

Bike share users should know how to ride a bike and should be familiar with local bike laws. Don’t forget your helmet!

You can still rent a bike if you don’t have a smartphone or a bank account! Check out the links under "Permit Year (Permit 2.1)" below for information from each vendor.

When your ride is finished, you can park the bike near any city bike rack or on the sidewalk. Please follow the selected company’s instructions on how to lock the bike and end your trip.

Guidelines for parking

We need your help to make sure Bike share works for everyone in Seattle. Badly parked bikes can cause problems for people getting around on our sidewalks. Do your part: when you end your ride, park the bike according to our guidelines listed further down this page.

We partnered with Rooted in Rights, a non-profit organization that protects the rights of people with disabilities, to create a video highlighting the importance of parking bike share bikes correctly and help people with disabilities move around the city. Please watch before your next ride, and share this video with others.

Watch our Bike Share Parking video.

  • You can only park the bike in the landscaping/furniture zone of sidewalks (the part of the sidewalk with trees, poles, and other fixtures). Make Sure that space is more than three feet wide, or park the bike at a public bike rack.
  • Leave at least six feet clear for pedestrians to pass.
  • Do not park on corners, driveways, or curb ramps.
  • Do not block access to buildings, benches, parking pay stations, bus stops, hydrants, etc.
  • Park the bike upright.
  • Do the right thing—don’t park in somebody else’s way, and don’t hide the bike somewhere the next user can’t find it.
  • Check out our bike parking diagram to better help you understand where to park your bike, and where to avoid parking.
landscaping/furniture zone of sidewalks. A graphic table that shows the street type on the y-axis and the zones of the sidewalk on the x-axis. The zones shown are the frontage zone, the pedestrian clear zone, and the landscape/furniture zone. The downtown, downtown neighborhood, downtown neighborhood access, urban village main, urban village neighborhood, urban center connector, and urban curbless street types all have a 2' minimum frontage zone (6' desired). All street types require a 6' pedestrian clear zone. Downtown streets require a 8' minimum pedestrian clear zone and 10' minimum for streets with frequent transit network designation. Downtown neighborhood streets require 8' minimum for streets with FTN designation. Urban center connector streets have a 10' minimum for streets with FTN designations. Urban village main and urban village neighborhood streets require 8' minimum pedestrian clear zone for streets with pedestrian-designated zones. The landscape/furniture zone requires 6' minimum width across street types. Downtown and urban center connector streets require 8' minimum for FTN streets. Neighborhood yield streets can have a 5' minimum if the land use code requirement means that the right-of-way is 40 feet. Urban curbless requires 12' for the landscape/furniture zone. Neighborhood curbless requires 12' for streets with one sided sidewalks.
Landscaping and Furniture Zones of Sidewalks
Bike Parking Diagram thumbnail
Bike Parking Diagram

Electric-assist bicycles

Electric-assist bicycles have the potential to make bike share a more accessible and convenient mobility option in Seattle. These bikes still require users to pedal, they just make Seattle’s challenging topography a little more manageable.

Whom do I contact with questions or comments?

If a bike is improperly parked or needs maintenance, contact the company using the contact information below:

If you are involved in a collision and if somebody is injured and you need emergency assistance, dial 911. File a collision report online with the Washington State Patrol. Report the collision to the company and let them know if the bike needs to be repaired or removed from service.

If you are a bike share company and have questions or are interested in obtaining a permit please contact the SDOT Bike Share Program at bikeshare@seattle.gov. Residents with questions and comments may also email  bikeshare@seattle.gov.

SDOT Free-floating Bike Share Permitting Archive