Woosh Scooters in Medellín After 45 Days. The Honest Review You Actually Need

• 🛴 Woosh is cheap and fast, but only if there is parking near your destination
• ⚠️ Some scooters are unreliable and peak hours mean slim pickings
• 👮 Helmet enforcement is coming, even if police are relaxed right now
• 🚲 Bike lanes are not optional if you value your life
• ⏱️ Speed is capped at 25 km/h, even downhill

About a month and a half ago I wrote about how Woosh was reshaping how people move around Medellín, and if you read that piece you already know I saw the shift coming in real time as potential riders could replace short Uber/Didi trips with scooters and started treating the city like a grid of bike lanes instead of a maze of traffic jams. Now that I have logged six weeks of near daily use across El Poblado, Laureles, and even some sketchy intersections I probably shouldn't admit to riding through, but the honeymoon phase is over and the practical reality has settled in.

Let’s start with the obvious upside, which is price and convenience, because for short urban trips under fifteen minutes you simply can't beat unlocking a scooter that costs less than half of most app based rides, weaving through congestion while cars sit still, and parking within meters of your destination as long as there is a designated drop zone nearby, which remains the catch that too many new users ignore until they find themselves circling blocks hunting for a Whoosh parking spot before the app lets them end the ride. Compared to the pre Woosh routine of waiting on ride share drivers who sometimes cancel during peak hours or charge surge pricing on rainy afternoons, this feels like reclaiming control of your schedule.

Now the part that requires honesty, because these scooters are dangerous if you ride them like you are invincible. Medellín traffic does not forgive hesitation or arrogance, especially when you are sharing space with buses, taxis, and delivery motorcycles that move aggressively through gaps that barely exist. Studies from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that head injuries are among the most common e scooter injuries in the US and the level of aggressiveness that we see here in Medellin streets. Making matters even stickier, local traffic data released by the Alcaldía de Medellín has repeatedly emphasized the vulnerability of riders in mixed traffic spaces, which means the casual approach some expats take toward helmets is shortsighted at best. If you're a tourist the chances of you buying a helmet to ride these is not reasonable at all.

Right now police are giving a bit of leeway to rental users who are not wearing helmets, particularly in tourist heavy areas, but in my conversations with police and recent enforcement updates make it clear that fines are coming and that grace period will not last forever, so if you plan on using Whoosh regularly you should own a helmet and actually wear it, not strap it to your backpack for decoration. You should also stay in the bike lanes whenever humanly possible, because the scooters are capped at 25 kilometers per hour and even downhill that limiter kicks in, which means you can't accelerate out of trouble the way a motorcycle can.

Then there is the quality issue, which is not talked about enough, because while many scooters feel solid and responsive, occasionally you unlock what can only be described as a lemon with weak acceleration, squeaky brakes, or battery levels that drop faster than expected, and during peak hours around 5 to 7 pm the supply tightens enough that you might walk several blocks scanning the app before finding one worth riding. This matters for your schedule, especially if you are using them as a primary transport tool rather than a novelty.

So where does that leave us after six weeks, and how does this compare to the early optimism I expressed in my original breakdown of how Whoosh was changing movement patterns in the city? The answer is that my thesis still stands - for short, strategic trips these scooters can save you time and money while reducing your reliance on cars, but the gap between smart use and reckless use is razor thin given Medellin's traffic and the consequences of not paying attention show up fast.

If you are an expat asking whether Whoosh scooters in Medellín are safe and a good option in 2026, the better question is whether you are disciplined (and crazy) enough to ride them properly, because the tool itself is neutral, capped at 25 km per hour and should stay in the bike lane, but your behavior and habits determines whether this becomes a smart mobility hack or a hospital visit that could have been avoided.

A couple of tips - first, as I've said - stay in the bike lanes. Splitting traffic here on a standing scooter is a recipe for disaster. Bend your knees slightly when riding them, the roads suck here and the suspension on these scooters is less than forgiving. Also, don't try riding them in mud. The day of the flooding in Poblado I used one and the scooter took on muddy water and shorted. Also pay attention, and don't wear headphones, life comes at you fast here, and the drivers aren't looking for you.