Getting around the city with a car or a taxi isn’t exactly the most environmentally friendly or really all that convenient. The constant traffic jams and slow pace can make anyone want to tear at their hair in frustration. But there is a different way.
We put together a short overview of the bikes, scooters, and other alternatives to traditional commuting while you have rentals in Porto, available through apps or rentals. Enjoy your few months living in Portugal without having to worry about gas prices or traffic.
Electric scooters in Porto
Electric scooters took a little bit longer to get to Porto than to Lisbon. Still, since June 2020, there are three electric scooter sharing companies:
- Bird
- Circ
- Hive
They all work pretty much the same. You download their app from the app store on your phone, finding the closest scooter near you. Porto has established blue lines near sidewalks dedicated to scooters, so they should be easy to find.
Once you find it, you scan the QR code on the side of the scooter, which unlocks it. You can then drive around to your heart’s content. When you’re done, you need to find a parking space with blue lines again where you can leave the scooter. After that, you just put the location into the app, and you can go. It’s straightforward.
The prices may vary from company to company, but the general gist is the same. Most have a starting fee for unlocking the scooter, which is around €0,50 to €1 and then they have a small fee for every minute you use the scooter. This is usually between €0,15 and €0,20, meaning that the price is around €9 to €12 per hour of use.
There is also electric scooter renting companies like Eko Easy or Monkey Rider, which rent out scooters for more hours. Still, they usually require you to bring the scooter back to their shop, making it less convenient. These companies start at around €15 per hour, but they include insurance and even a helmet.
Bike-sharing in Porto
Bike-sharing works pretty much the same way as scooter sharing described above. They even park on the same blue lines and are run by the same three companies. Porto has taken a responsible stand towards bike and scooter sharing and implemented many rules to prevent problems in cities like Lisbon.
This is why there is, for example, a curfew between 10 pm and 6 am when all bike and scooter sharing services are shut down. The bike-sharing prices are slightly higher than those of scooter sharing, starting at about €0,20 (€12 per hour) plus unlock fees.
There are many bikes renting services, which can be much cheaper, starting at around €4. Still, many of them do not offer electric bikes, only regular bikes. Some bike renting companies go as high as €30 per hour. Still, their bikes are usually much better than those of the competition, and they offer many adjacent services.
Overall, the more than 2100 bikes and scooters in more than 210 sharing points should be more than enough to provide a decent alternative to cars and taxis in Porto.
