Approval has been granted for a pilot scheme allowing 700 shared electric scooters to be let loose on Christchurch footpaths.

Christchurch and Auckland will soon be awash with electric scooters, but there's one unexpected place you won't be seeing them: a bike lane.

The scooters are classed as a "low powered vehicle" (despite a 27kmh top speed), which allows them to roam in a surprisingly wide range of places, including both the road and footpath.

Within the month, there will be hundreds of shared e-scooters in New Zealand's two largest cities, as US-based Lime launches 1000 in Auckland and 700 in Christchurch. The scooters can be rented using an app for $1 plus 30 cents per minute (the equivalent of $18/hr) and can be left anywhere within a certain area.

LAURA A ODA/TNS Lime scooters are weeks away from the streets of New Zealand's two largest cities, but there are a few quirks about where they can and cannot be ridden.

But there's one surprising place the scooters cannot go – the cycle lanes painted onto roads.

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However, it's only "cycle lanes" this applies to, and not "cycle paths", which are physically separated by a barrier or are off the road altogether.

Confused yet? The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) provided some clarity.

A spokeswoman said the scooters could be used "anywhere except the designated cycle lanes that are part of the road" – those cycle lanes painted onto the road surface with no barrier in between.

This is because those cycle lanes were "for the sole use of cyclists", the spokeswoman said.

LAURA A ODA/AP The scooters are fine to ride on the road, footpath or on cycle paths, but are not allowed on cycle lanes.

She said if there was any separation between bikes and the road, or the path was off the road altogether, it was a cycle path.

If people were to use e-scooters on the road, they were encouraged to ride as far to the left as possible for safety, to leave the main road lane for cars, the spokeswoman said.

She said good, safe behaviour "remains the priority when people ride e-scooters" and anyone riding dangerously on the footpath or road could get warnings or fines from the police.

Despite a top speed of 27kmh, helmets are not compulsory when using e-scooters, which has some worried about how safe they are to use.

The spokeswoman said the NZTA was aware of the concerns, and were in discussion with the Ministry of Transport (which is responsible for legislative changes) about options to change the legislation.

The electric scooters are counted as a low powered vehicle as long as they have wheels not exceeding 355 millimetres and a motor with a maximum power output no more than 300 watts.