E-scooter rental apps will make life more difficult for Britain’s pedestrians

Analysis: The government's decision to legalise the schemes is about to put even more stress on pavements, writes Jon Stone

E-scooters on the pavement in Berlin (Getty)

If you went abroad in Europe last year you probably noticed them; maybe you even tried them: now “dockless” e-scooter rental schemes are coming to the UK.

From Saturday it’ll becoming legal to ride electric scooters on British roads, but only as part of these rental schemes. You download an app, it directs you to a scooter, you ride them, and it bills you depending on how long you spent on it.

For now, the many private scooters you may have seen around will remain illegal – they are currently sold with the widely-ignored small print saying they can only be used on private land.