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Poland

Kraków

A medieval old town preserved whole, with trams circling just outside it. There are no ticket gates anywhere.

Shared e-scooters (hulajnogi elektryczne)

No municipal minute-based bike hire - the short-hop option is private e-scooters. It all runs in the app; in the centre, rides end only at designated points. The only price list is what the app shows before unlock.

Updated 18 days ago

How to ride

  1. 1
    Install the operator's app and sign up
    The app is the only way to rent; you must be 18 or over and register a payment method such as a card.
  2. 2
    Find a vehicle on the map and scan its QR code
    Use the map in the app to find a vehicle nearby, then scan the QR code on it to unlock.
  3. 3
    Ride on the cycle path first
    Use a cycle path or cycle lane first; only where there is none may you use the road, and only if its limit is 30 km/h.
  4. 4
    Dismount at pedestrian crossings
    Riding across a pedestrian crossing is banned - get off and push. On pavements, pedestrians have priority.
  5. 5
    End the ride at a designated mobility point
    Inside the central zone a ride can only end at a designated mobility point; pick one that still has space.
  6. 6
    Confirm the end of the ride in the app
    Do not walk away until the app confirms the ride has ended; you may be asked for a photo of how you parked.

Payment

IC card
The KKM and MKA cards and passes play no part here
App tickets
Unlocking and paying happen in the app; register a payment method (a card, say)
Paper tickets
KMK paper tickets cannot rent a vehicle
Cash
There is no counter or machine where cash can rent a vehicle

Tap for where to get the app

Quick facts

Heads-up

  • In the central zone a ride can only end at a designated point

    This obligation does not cover the whole city - it applies inside the central zone the city has mapped, and the wording on ZTP's own regulation page limits it geographically in exactly that way. Inside the zone the only legal place to end a ride is one of the designated mobility points, of which there are more than 300 across Kraków. Each point has a set capacity, divided between the operators, so a full point is not somewhere you can return to. Leaving a vehicle outside a point while you are inside the zone is illegal parking and the operator comes to collect it. Under the city's arrangement that collection is the operator's expense - but the cost has a route back to you through the rental contract: Lime's terms require a photo proving you parked correctly and provide for extra usage charges and penalties if you do not supply one. The city also runs a public channel where anyone can report a badly parked vehicle with a photo and an address, and a reported vehicle is collected within about two hours. The zone has been enlarged over time, so check the app's map for the zone, the points and the space in them before you stop.

  • Parking is barred in the old town, allowed outside the zone

    Outside the zone, and in the old town, the rules run the other way. The city's announcement says that beyond the second ring road a scooter may be left anywhere, provided it is parked as road law requires - in a designated spot where one exists, otherwise parallel to the kerb on the edge of the pavement furthest from the roadway, leaving at least 1.5 m for pedestrians. The old town, the place a visitor is actually heading, goes the opposite way: the agreement between the city and the operators sets up a zone where leaving a scooter is barred outright, covering the old town inside the first ring road and part of the Vistula boulevards. Rental vehicles are also throttled to 18 km/h in the Planty, Młynówka Królewska, Kraków Park, Jordan Park, Wolski Wood, Polish Airmen Park and along the Vistula boulevards. That announcement is an archived 2023 page, so the current shape of these zones is whatever the app's map and ZTP's map show. If you are riding into the old town, decide where you can end the ride before you get there.

  • Under-18s cannot rent, and one rider per scooter

    Under-18s cannot rent. Lime's user agreement requires the user to be at least 18, and says only that in places where Lime's local rules allow it the floor may drop to 16. And since the city's own guidance states that one scooter may not be used by more than one person, carrying a teenager behind an adult is not a way around it either. If you are travelling as a family or a student group, plan on the basis that only the adults can rent - on the days that does not add up, the trams and buses will be quicker anyway.

  • Damage is billed at cost, so check the vehicle first

    Breaking one is expensive. Lime's terms provide for charges based on the actual cost of repair or replacement, up to 2,300 zł for a pedal bike, 7,780 zł for an e-bike and 5,720 zł for a scooter. The same terms make it your duty to inspect the vehicle before riding and not to use it if anything looks wrong. Check the brakes, the tyres and the lights before you unlock, and switch to another vehicle at the slightest doubt. The terms also say no charge is made where the evidence shows the damage was pre-existing or caused by a fault or maintenance problem, so reporting a defect through the app the moment you notice it is your own best protection.

  • Riding after drinking is prohibited - take a night tram

    Riding after drinking is prohibited. The city's guidance states plainly that using a bicycle or a scooter under the influence of alcohol or other substances is forbidden. Kraków is a city with a long night in the old town, and a scooter is the obvious way to get home - but that route is closed by rule, and Bolt has added a weekend requirement to pass a reaction-time test in the app before a scooter will unlock. Use the night trams and buses, or a taxi or ride-hailing, for journeys home after midnight.

Timetable

Check the official site for the latest times and service status