People thinking about buying an electric scooter often wonder if the scooter will fit in various means of transport. Even after I rode rental electric scooters for a while, I still didn’t have a clear idea whether the scooter would fit in the trunk of my car, or in public transport.
Today, after quite a long time of riding, I have the answers to whether an electric scooter is easy to bring with you on a bus, a train, in the metro, in the trunk of a car, on an airplane, on an elevator, up some stairs, and many other common scenarios.
Can you take your electric scooter with you on a bus/train/car/plane?
You can easily take any electric scooter on a bus, a train, and on the metro. You may experience issues going through subway station doors. Most scooters will fit in the trunks of most cars, but big scooters will not fit in smaller car trunks. Very few airlines allow electric scooters on their airplanes.
These are all the things you need to know about taking your scooter with you on another transport mode.
Does an electric scooter fit a car trunk?
Almost every electric scooter will easily fit in the trunks of most cars. The exceptions are very big scooters, which will probably only fit in bigger car trunks, and also very small car trunks, which will have difficulty containing even an average electric scooter.
For example, my Xiaomi M365 Pro, when folded, easily fits in the trunk of my Ford Focus, which is by no means a large car. In fact, it’s a medium or a medium-small car, and there is still a bit of wiggle room left even after putting the scooter in the trunk.
I’ve tried fitting the Xiaomi M365 Pro in a Fiat Panda, and while there was some extra maneuvering required, it did fit in there as well. The Fiat Panda is a small car, so it can fit an average scooter like the Xiaomi M365 Pro, but it wouldn’t be able to fit a bigger one.
Most popular electric scooters are about the same size as the Xiaomi M365 Pro, so you should be able to fit most scooters in most cars. Bigger cars, pickups, and vans, will have no problems fitting almost any scooter.
In any case, big scooters usually have very long ranges and weigh more, and are not intended to be carried at all.
Check the article on the most portable electric scooters if you want to see which scooters occupy the least space and are the easiest to carry around.
Does an electric scooter fit in an elevator?
Most electric scooters will easily fit in most elevators. Some of the old elevators, which can be very small, will not be able to fit your scooter when unfolded, but they should fit it when folded. Modern elevators with automatic doors are the best for electric scooters, but elevators that have heavy doors you need to open manually will cause you a minor nuisance.
Can you carry an electric scooter up stairs?
Electric scooters can easily be carried up a few flights of stairs. Some scooters don’t provide a convenient way to carry them in one hand, and for those models, an additional carry handle is one of the most commonly bought scooter accessories.
You can find a very cheap carry handle on Banggood, it costs less than $10.
Can you take an electric scooter on a bus?
You can take your electric scooter with you on the bus. Getting it through the door can be a small issue, since the handlebars and other sticking parts can easily hit something. Inside the bus, you should be extra mindful of not hitting someone with your scooter.
With scooters with bigger weight and volume, you may have a harder time.
I don’t ride the bus with my scooter too often, but when I do, I always try to keep it under the seat. Besides volume, your biggest issue here will be weight. Trying to fit an awkwardly shaped 55 lbs / 25 kg metal object through the tight doors of a bus without breaking anything is not fun. Check out the post for the most lightweight scooters in the world today if you need a scooter that’s super-easy to carry.
You may get some weird looks from the other passengers from time to time. You will get used to it after a while.
Remember, always fold your scooter before getting on the bus, and don’t forget to fold the kickstand as well, that’s a step that I often forget and it has already scratched a few things so far.
Can you take an electric scooter on the subway or the train?
Electric scooters easily fit in trains and subways, especially when they are not crowded. A folded electric scooter can easily fit under the seats. The biggest challenge for taking an electric scooter on the subway may be some types of subway station doors, especially revolving metal doors.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you can ride the scooter itself while in the station. This is usually prohibited, and may even get you in trouble.
Most subway stations will have regular doors, and you can carry the scooter over them, or even push it through.
Some train and metro stations will have revolving doors with metal bars, and they will make your job of transporting your scooter through them harder. Pushing your scooter through them will be difficult, so try folding it and carrying it through them.
Do you need to pay extra to bring your electric scooter with you on public transport?
You don’t need to pay extra to take your electric scooter with you on public transport. It is your personal baggage, and that’s usually included in the ticket price.
However, it is possible that the staff tries to forbid you to board with the scooter, especially in situations where the crowd is too big.
Can you bring your electric scooter on a plane?
Almost every airline in the world doesn’t allow electric scooters on board. Only a handful of airlines may allow some electric scooters with very small batteries under 160 Wh, and very few scooters for adults fit those criteria.
You can check the full post about electric scooters on airplanes to see which airlines exactly can let you take your scooter with you on board.
How much do electric scooters weigh?
Most electric scooters today weigh between 22 and 41.9 lbs / 10 and 19 kg. The average for the most popular electric scooters today is 31.7 lbs / 14.4 kg.
I arrived at this answer by doing complete research on all the available data, you can find more about the study here.
