Three strikes and it's off the scooter, on yer bike
Mayor welcomes arrival of new scooter company
Anew e-scooter company has come to the rescue in Taupō . One hundred purple scooters were deposited around the town last Thursday, filling a hole left by Glow scooters, which gave up its lease to operate on council land last year and wound up local operations.
The new scooters are available in most parts of town, including the town centre, around the lake to Wharewaka and Four Mile Bay at the southern end of town, Nukuhau to the north and Tauhara to the east.
Beam’s head of sustainability for Australia and New Zealand, Frederick Conquer, says the scooters are carbon neutral, and affordable. They cost $1 to start it and then $0.65 a minute.
He said safety for riders and pedestrians is their biggest priority, and the scooters feature tip-resistant kickstands, a compulsory helmet with every ride, and an in-app Safety Quiz to educate riders on how to ride safely.
Taupō District Mayor David Trewavas says they welcome the arrival of the new scooters and they would add vibrancy to the lakefront.
The arrival of a new scooter company attracted a largely negative response on social media with many residents decrying the unattractiveness of scooters left lying all over town and careless use by some operators.
The company has a two-year licence and Trewavas says they will monitor the activity as they go along, like they do with all activities granted leases on public land. The company itself has strict rules around usage.
“We previously have had e-scooters operating in Taupō and they proved popular with both locals and visitors. It’s great to see Beam bringing this service back to our town.”
The Saturn e-scooters feature tipresistant kickstands, mechanical and electronic brakes, a Bluetooth-locked helmet, and swappable batteries.
It is advertising job vacancies for a van marshall to redistribute scooters and change batteries and a fleet technician.
People will need to be mindful of scooter etiquette with fines for poorly parked scooters and penalties for various infringements and breaches of rules within the Beam Safe Academy.
There is a “three-strikes” policy for breaches of parking and bad riding that results in suspension.
The company says Beam Safety Ambassadors will patrol high-traffic areas, promoting safe riding and parking.
Virtual parking docks are visible in the app, with riders directed to those “appropriate” parking spots.
There is a pre-trip safety briefing for every rider, featuring instructions on how to park and ride safely.
There was also something called Beam Booster, which was designed to boost local retail. It uses a mix of GPS technology, in-app notifications and partner incentives to help stimulate economic activity in the community. Participation is free for businesses via www.ridebeam.com/anz/booster.
An in-app Beam Safety Quiz was designed to educate riders on the rules, with free credits offered to encourage it.
In a statement, Beam described itself as “Asia Pacific’s largest shared micromobility company”.
“We are on a mission to turn little drives into better rides and make cities flow better for everyone.”
It has operations in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia and would be expanding operations to Turkey, Japan and Indonesia.
Within New Zealand, Beam has operations in Auckland, Wellington, Whangārei, Palmerston North and Taupō .