Although the majority of e-scooters are bought online, there are some bricks and mortar shops selling the micromobility devices in London. The first stores selling e-scooters (in 2019) included the Mi Store in Westfield Shopping Centre, which exclusively sells the popular Xiaomi scooters, as well as the Inokim store, which has moved to Holborn and of course only sells Inokim scooters. The first two major retailers to stock e-scooters were Halfords, which sell a number of brands after originally focusing on the Xiaomis, and Argos, which has tended to sell lower-end electric scooters. Pure Electric, which started out as Pure Scooters, were quick to open London stores before consolidating to a single store in Spitalfields, proving that while privately owned scooters remain illegal to ride in public, it is hard to cover the costs of a real-world store.

There have been some independent stores opened since, like the E-Scooter Clinic between Camden and Islington, which offers coffee too. Once electric scooters are legalised, you can expect to see many more such stores popping up to offer repairs and servicing, not least because changing an e-scooter tyre can be nigh on impossible with the tools most people have at home. Unortunately, if you are looking for a local store, relying on Google Maps is not necesarily a good idea as there are many e-tailers who list virtual offices as a shop.

Renting an electric scooter from one of the three approved providers - Lime, Dott or Tier - is currently the only legal way to ride e-scooters in London (though many people do of course still ride privately-owned e-scooters in the capital - the policing of electric scooters in London has been somewhat random). The first schemes opened in June 2021, and the trials have been reneweed and steadily extended across more councils (as well as within councils). It costs £1 to unluck a scooter and then £0.16/£0.17 per minute to ride it. So if you wanted to do a two mile journey (thus cutting down a 30-minute walk to a 10-minute scooter ride), it would likely cost you about £2.75.

The are now ten councils hosting trials:

• Camden
• City of London
• Ealing
• Hammersmith & Fulham
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Lambeth
• Richmond upon Thames
• Southwark
• Tower Hamlets
• Westminster

The map shows roughly where the current trials are taking place. It's worth remembering that one generally has to stay within the participating boroughs (and certainly park in them), while there are also some no-go areas within boroughs. The trial scheme apps should warn you if you are leaving an approved area (and of course you will be logged into your account, so the hire schemes will know if you). For more information on the hire schemes available in each London borough, please click on a council below (link will open in a tab) to visit the borough's website.