Are Electric Scooters Legal in Midland?

Bird Rides exited Midland and Bay City in May 2025 as part of a nationwide retrenchment, leaving no permitted shared scooters in Midland’s right-of-way; any future operator will need a new agreement. Until then, riders must follow Catalyst Midland’s baseline rules (stick to streets with 35 mph or lower limits, use bike lanes when available, avoid the Pere Marquette Rail Trail, and yield to pedestrians when riding on sidewalks) plus Texas Transportation Code §551, which caps speeds at 20 mph, limits devices to a single rider, and requires keeping as far right as practicable. Midland’s September 29, 2025 Vision Zero ordinance also created pedestrian clear zones around crosswalks and signals—blocking those areas now triggers warnings, then $100 and $500 fines—so scooter riders should dismount near crossings and stage devices outside the marked buffers.