Quick Answer: Pennsylvania is one of the few states where stand-up electric scooters are effectively illegal on public roads and sidewalks for private owners — Title 75 of the state Vehicle Code has no e-scooter category, so PennDOT treats them as unregistrable “motor-driven cycles.” Pittsburgh’s state-authorized “Move PGH” shared pilot (2021-2023) has expired and wasn’t renewed. A bill called Abby’s Law (SB 1008) would finally legalize a 20 mph, age-16 “low-speed electric scooter” category, but as of this writing it hasn’t passed — so today, riding one on a public street or sidewalk anywhere in the state remains against the law.
Pennsylvania is the odd state out compared to the other guides in this series: where California, Florida, and Texas are legal by default and Illinois is legal only where a city opts in, Pennsylvania simply never wrote e-scooters into its vehicle code — leaving them in a legal gap that functions like a statewide ban. Here’s what that actually means for riders, what Pittsburgh’s now-expired pilot allowed, and what would change if the pending legislation passes.
Pennsylvania scooter rules at a glance
| Rule | Pennsylvania status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal on public roads/sidewalks? | No — no e-scooter category in the Vehicle Code | Title 75, Pa. Cons. Stat. § 102 |
| Nearest legal classification | "Motor-driven cycle" (motorcycle-level titling/registration) | Title 75, Pa. Cons. Stat. § 102 |
| Where riding is allowed today | Private property only | PennDOT position, per legal guides |
| Pittsburgh shared pilot | Expired (Move PGH ran July 2021-July 2023 under Act 130) | City of Pittsburgh / Act 130 (2021) |
| Philadelphia shared program | Never launched (2018 ordinance blocked by state titling rules) | City of Philadelphia |
| Pending statewide legalization | SB 1008 "Abby's Law" — not yet passed | Pennsylvania General Assembly |
| Pending Pittsburgh pilot reinstatement | HB 2218 — not yet passed | Pennsylvania General Assembly |
Why Pennsylvania doesn’t have a scooter law at all
Most states either wrote a “low-speed electric scooter” definition into their vehicle code (like Florida’s bicycle-rules model) or created an opt-in local authorization system (like Illinois). Pennsylvania did neither. Title 75, Section 102 of the state’s Consolidated Statutes defines vehicle categories, but never carved out a slot for e-scooters — so the closest match by exclusion is “motor-driven cycle,” which is regulated the same as a motorcycle. A typical 30-50 lb stand-up scooter simply can’t meet motorcycle titling, registration, and equipment requirements, which is why PennDOT’s reported position restricts private e-scooters to riding on your own property, not public streets or sidewalks.
That’s a meaningfully harder position than most of the states in this series. It’s not a speed cap you might exceed or a helmet rule you might skip — riding a scooter you own on a Pennsylvania public road at all is currently outside the law, regardless of how fast it goes or how old you are. If private property is your only legal option for now, a certified helmet is still worth wearing — the CPSC’s injury data doesn’t care whether the ride happened on a public street or your own driveway.
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Pittsburgh’s pilot came and went
Pittsburgh is the one Pennsylvania city that briefly had a real legal framework. Under Act 130 (2021), the state authorized Pittsburgh’s “Move PGH” program, which let shared-scooter operators like Spin run fleets under city rules — a 15 mph speed cap and defined rider zones. That authorization ran from July 2021 to July 2023 and expired without renewal. As of 2026, there’s no active legal shared-scooter program on Pittsburgh streets, and the same statewide gap that blocks private ownership still applies.
Philadelphia never got one
Philadelphia explored a dockless bike- and scooter-share ordinance back in 2018, but the same state titling and registration requirements that block private ownership statewide also prevented the city from launching a shared program unilaterally — state law doesn’t give first-class cities standalone authority to legalize a vehicle category the Vehicle Code doesn’t recognize. Philadelphia riders face the identical restriction as the rest of the state: private property only.
Two bills could change this — neither has passed yet
Senate Bill 1008 (“Abby’s Law”) is the bill that would actually fix the underlying gap. It would create a dedicated “low-speed electric scooter” category — under 100 lbs, capped at 20 mph — set a minimum age of 16, require a helmet for riders 16-17, limit scooters to one rider at a time, and apply standard bicycle traffic rules to how they’re operated on the road. As of this writing, Abby’s Law has not passed the General Assembly and is not current law.
House Bill 2218 is a narrower, separate bill focused on reinstating Pittsburgh-style shared programs. It would let any of Pennsylvania’s second- or third-class cities set up an e-scooter mobility program with a commercial operator, using the same 15 mph framework Pittsburgh’s Move PGH pilot ran under. Philadelphia — the state’s only first-class city — is explicitly excluded from that provision at the request of the mayor’s administration. Like Abby’s Law, HB 2218 hasn’t been enacted.
Until one of these passes, the practical answer for Pennsylvania riders stays the same: a scooter you own is a private-property machine, not a street-legal one, no matter how it’s equipped or how careful you ride.
The bottom line
Pennsylvania isn’t a “check your city” state the way Illinois is — it’s a state where the Vehicle Code simply never created a legal path for stand-up e-scooters on public roads or sidewalks, full stop. Pittsburgh’s Move PGH pilot proved a shared program could work under the right state authorization, but that window closed in 2023. Two bills, Abby’s Law and HB 2218, would each open a different door — a 20 mph private-ownership category statewide, and a 15 mph shared- program option for smaller cities — but neither is law yet. If you’re riding in Pennsylvania today, treat it as private-property-only until one of them changes that.
Comparing states before you buy? See our electric scooter laws national overview, or our Texas, Florida, and California guides for states that already regulate scooters statewide. Riding on your own property in the meantime? Our best electric scooter roundup and electric scooter insurance guide are still worth reading — insurance in particular matters more, not less, in a state where a public-road accident carries extra legal risk.