Those darn electric scooters have been incredibly popular in Milwaukee in 2024, and the city has the numbers—and the cash—to prove it.

A total of 816,500 trips have been recorded on Lime and Spin scooters this year. That’s up 47% from last year, said Department of Public Works Senior Transportation Planner Zac Roder at a Public Works Committee hearing on Wednesday.

“Are we going to hit a million this year?” asked Committee Chairman Bob Bauman.

“I don’t know if we will, but I can definitely see that being the case next year,” Roder replied.

As for the cash, the city has made a total of $492,190.75 from scooter rides this year, through September. Roder added that despite the slowly dwindling number of rides due to cooler weather, he expected the city to make another $40,000 in October.

“We are still on pace for around 155,000 trips in October,” he said. “This is about a 100% increase compared to October of last year.”

After three years of pilot studies, Milwaukee’s permanent scooter program began on May 17, 2024. The program allows for two operators to deploy up to 1,000 scooters each—more if they meet certain requirements.

Under the program, operators pay the city $100 for each scooter deployed, and $.25 for each trip recorded. That revenue goes into the city’s transportation fund and is used for things like “scooter-related activities” and “protected bikeways,” Roder explained at a previous meeting in September.


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Matt Wild weighs between 140 and 145 pounds. He lives on Milwaukee's east side.