Urent

Review by eFreeware

Urent is a free app from the developer of the same name for renting shared electric scooters and bicycles. It has been around since August 2018 and has built a base of more than 10 million installs with a 4.5 average from over 255,000 ratings, which suggests a service people keep coming back to rather than one they try once.

The main reason to consider it is straightforward. If you need to cover a short distance in a city where Urent operates, the app connects you to a nearby scooter or bike, you pay for the ride, and you leave the vehicle at a parking lot when you are done. It is built for errands, meeting friends and short hops rather than for long journeys or exercise.

How a rental works from start to finish

The flow the developer describes is simple. You find the closest e-scooter on the map inside the app, scan the QR code on the wheel, pick a tariff plan and press start. A lever by the right side of the wheel handles acceleration once you push off. When you are finished, you lock the scooter at one of the hundreds of parking lots and end the rental in the app.

One practical detail worth remembering is the battery. The developer advises keeping an eye on the scooter's charge so you can reach a parking lot and complete the rental in time. That is the sort of thing that matters more than it sounds, because running out of charge away from a lot leaves you with a problem to solve.

Tariff plans are chosen before each ride, so the cost of a trip depends on which plan you select at the start. The app itself is free to download, and it does contain ads.

Riding with other people

Multi-rent is the feature that stands out for group trips. A single account can take up to five scooters or bikes at once, with each one rented by scanning its own QR code. That means you can set up rides for friends or family without everyone needing their own account and payment details.

I would expect this to be most useful on outings where several people want to travel together, such as a weekend ride around a park or a group heading to the same part of town. The limit of five per account is worth noting if your group is larger than that.

Whether the person who rents is the person who pays is something to work out among yourselves.

Booking ahead and leaving a scooter parked

Two features address the awkward moments of shared transport. Booking lets you reserve a bike or e-scooter in the app, and the developer says it will wait for you for 10 minutes. That is a reasonable window if you are finishing a coffee or walking to the pickup point.

Standby mode covers the other gap. During a rental you can close the lock and put the scooter into standby, which keeps the rental running while the lock is closed. You can then step away for a few minutes without leaving the scooter unlocked and unattended.

The trade-off is that the meter keeps running during standby, so it suits short stops rather than long ones. For a quick errand it removes the need to end a rental and start a new one.

Signing up and what you need

Registration is described as taking a couple of minutes and requires two things: a phone number and a bank card. There is no lengthy profile to fill in, which keeps the barrier to a first ride low.

The app is free to download and available to everyone, though it does carry ads. It is not a game.

The service operates in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, along with larger cities in southern Russia including Sochi, Krasnaya Polyana, Anapa, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don. Rental rules can differ from city to city, and the developer recommends checking the rules for your location before you rent. That is sensible advice, because parking zones and local conditions are the kind of thing that varies.

The subscription pause and what it means for riders

The most recent update concerns subscriptions. A pause feature is in the works, the developer says, and the app should soon show the subscription as paused with no further charges.

For everyone else it does not affect how a single ride works: you still find a scooter, scan it, choose a tariff and go.

What the update does not change is the core service. The app remains a way to rent scooters and bikes by the ride, with the same map, QR codes and parking lots as before.

Who gets the most from Urent

Urent fits city residents and visitors who want transport for short distances without owning a scooter. If you live or work in one of the cities it covers and your trips are a few kilometers at a time, the combination of a map, nearby vehicles and plenty of parking lots is exactly what you need.

It also suits groups. Multi-rent makes it easy to get several people riding on one account, which is handy when friends visit or when a family wants to move around together.

The app is less relevant if you are outside its service area, since the whole thing depends on there being scooters and bikes nearby. Anyone who needs to carry a lot of luggage, travel long distances or ride in bad weather will find a scooter or bike less practical than a car or public transport. And if ads bother you, that is part of using the free version.

A practical option for short city trips

The multi-rent option, the 10-minute booking window and standby mode all address real situations that come up when you are moving around a city with other people or making a quick stop.

If you live in or visit one of the covered cities and want a simple way to cover short distances, Urent is worth installing. If your travel needs are longer or you are outside its service area, a shared scooter app is not going to solve your problem.

What's new in version 2.6.1

We've prepared your subscription for its upcoming pause. Very soon, you'll see in the app that your subscription is paused and you're no longer being charged for it. All your subscription benefits will remain available to you until spring. Enjoy your rides!