Why this exists
Buying a used scooter or moped is fragmented across eBay, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Vespa-specific forums, and individual dealer sites. Renting a Bird or Lime requires a different app for each operator, with no unified view of what's actually nearby right now.
We pull both into one place. Swipe through used listings. See every public rental fleet within walking distance, in real time. List your own scooter for free, with no commission and no fees.
What's under the hood
- Used listings: eBay Browse API + private user submissions. ~600 active listings, refreshed every 30 minutes.
- Live rental map: 1,275 indexed GBFS feeds — Lime, Bird, Spin, Veo, Citi Bike, Bay Wheels, Bluebikes, Capital Bikeshare, BIKETOWN, Indego, Divvy, and 1,000+ international fleets.
- Rental shops + dealers: Google Places API for hourly rental shops, dealerships, and tour operators in cities without shared dockless fleets (Miami, Key West, etc.).
- Editorial: six contributors writing buying guides, route notes, mechanical deep-dives, brand takes. New post every couple of days.
- History: a real timeline of scooters from the 1817 draisine through the 2024 e-scooter shake-out.
Who's behind it
scooter.exchange is part of a small federation of independent web properties. We don't take VC money. We don't do programmatic ads above the fold. The site is supported by a few affiliate links (eBay Partner Network, in-store rental partners) which never affect editorial picks.
Our editorial team consists of six recurring contributors, each with a distinct background in two-wheeled vehicles — former couriers, urban planners, mechanics, fleet operators. Each writer's full bio is on their author page.
What we don't do
- We don't take payments. Buyers and sellers transact direct.
- We don't escrow. We don't verify VINs (ask the seller for the title). We don't insure rides.
- We don't sell user data, run third-party tracking pixels, or send marketing email without opt-in.
Get in touch
Press, partnerships, listings to add, fleets we should index, or just hi — use the contact form. We read everything.