Depending on where you sit on the subject, e-scooters are either a cheap and green mode of transport for a forward-thinking city or a pedestrian menace cluttering up the community.
On paper, the machines appear to offer a cheap and cheerful way of getting about the city, but they have not been without controversy.
They are a plentiful sight in major European cities but, despite being rechargeable electric vehicles, a recent study claimed that, over their lifetime, e-scooters produce more emissions per passenger mile than buses.
That said, they are undoubtedly more environmentally-friendly than most cars and their energy efficiency is improving all the time.
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Council leader Councillor Graeme Miller is hopeful the benefits will far outweigh the negatives.
As he tells us today: "Trials have been approved in other towns and cities and scooters have the potential for another convenient, clean and cost-effective transport choice.
"E-scooters could also be used by visitors and tourists for leisure type journeys along the seafront by linking with the city centre and some of our Metro stations.
"E-scooters offer the potential for fast, clean and inexpensive travel that can help ease the burden on transport networks and they allow for social-distancing.”
Given the potential benefits, e-scooters are certainly worth a trial run in the city … and if they don’t meet the people’s expectations, the gripes and grumbles may well hold sway.