In May, the British government urged people to return to work, if they couldn't work from home, but to avoid public transport if possible. 

At the same time, the government brought forward by a year a trial for electric scooter rentals, and expanded them to the whole country.

This conundrum for commuters sparked something of a scramble by the electric scooter rental companies which have operated in U.S. and European cities for some time.

One of the most successful in Europe, Tier Mobility operates in more than 60 European cities, a service which continued during the worst of the pandemic. It's now preparing for a UK launch with its sturdy double kick-stand e-scooters.

"The UK is, of course, extremely exciting and has the potential to be one of the biggest sharing mobility markets in Europe," Roger Hassan, Tier's chief operating officer, told CGTN Europe.

Renters will have to be at least 16 years old, hold a valid full or provisional driving licence and must ride on roads and cycle lanes. But it's not only the rental companies that have been busy.

One London-based company selling e-scooters and electric bikes has recently opened 11 new shops across the UK within the space of weeks, with plans for more including in Europe.

While unable to give sales figures, Tom McPhail from Pure Electric says it has further expansion plans for the UK and Europe after seeing sales of e-scooters skyrocket.

"We are selling hundreds of these scooters every day," McPhail says. "The demand was growing pretty rapidly before we got to February, since February and since lockdown, the graph hasn't gone quite vertical but it's heading pretty rapidly upwards at the moment," he said.

While some campaigners have raised concerns about the safety of electric scooters on public roads, Hassan from Tier Mobility says e-scooters are just as safe as, if not safer than, cycling and he is hopeful people will turn to them to replace cars for short journeys.

"We can help support the avoidance of a car-based recovery, which is the big danger, you know, that people don't want to go back on the bus or back on the tube and decide instead to get in their car. Well, this is the alternative."

One convert to the e-scooter is Leigh Coombs, who bought one late last year to cover the five-kilometer journey to his local Bedfordshire station, where he catches a train to central London.

"It makes me feel young, I've got air in my hair, wind in my face," he laughed. "It's an amazing modern form of transportation." 

Coombs is one of thousands of people who have invested in their own scooter in recent months, despite the fact that riding them in many places remains illegal. He's hoping private scooters will become legal alongside the rental ones. 

"It would be fantastic countrywide, to legalize private use and rentals as well, for everybody to benefit from this amazing modern transportation."

Video producer and editor: Catherine Newman and Sam Cordell