Positive report means Beam e-scooters likely to stay - and spread

A company operating e-scooters for hire in Queenstown looks likely to have an initial two-year trial extended after local council staff and elected members endorsed their operations so far.

Beam launched its fleet of purple scooters in Frankton and the Queenstown CBD approximately 18 months ago, under an agreement with the Queenstown Lakes District Council.

Council staff this week have presented a positive report card on operations to date to members of the council's Infrastructure Committee.

In a workshop held at the Gorge Road council chambers on Wednesday the option to extend the deal between Beam and the council was discussed.

Committee chair Gavin Bartlett says, "Generally, there was a favourable view of the trial so far and support for the trial to continue".

"It was noted that the scooters are contributing to the council's aim to encourage transportation mode shift and active and passenger transport."

For now, Beam negotiates with owners of private property to provide parking for their scooters.

Among parking spots are Night 'n Day on Camp Street, FreshChoice, Altitude Brewery, Industrial Fitness, and a handful of backpackers, hotels and motels.

However, Councillor Bartlett confirms the option to add some public spaces to the mix going forward is under consideration.

The Queenstown Events Centre, Frankton Bus Hub, Boundary Street Carpark, Lakeview Carpark, Queenstown Gardens, and Frankton Beach have all been flagged as potential new parking spots.

During the workshop staff updated elected members on usage data and reported incidents of concern, which were few.

"It was interesting to note that in that time there had been no major incidents reported and no 'Requests for Service' generated in relation to the scooter trial, although there had been seven near misses and three incidents relating to scooters being left outside of formal parking areas reported through Monitoring and Enforcement," Councillor Bartlett says.

However in August Crux reported a driver routinely travelling Queenstown streets for work had discovered notifications he had supplied to the council of badly parked Beam scooters via the council's 'Snap, Send, Solve' mobile app were diverted directly to Beam to respond to.

He was surprised to receive communications from a Beam employee requesting in future he contact them in the first instance rather than the council for prompter action.

A selection of images of badly parked Beam scooters supplied to Crux by one member of the public in August 2024.

At the time, Crux asked Beam if they had been keeping a tally of scooters inappropriately left outside of the designated private property parking spaces - they told us had not done so.

The scooters are available for hire between 6am and 10 pm seven days a week, and staff reported at the workshop an average 2,380 trips are taken on them each month, by an average 1,047 users.

The average trip is 1.9 kilometres long and lasts 15.2 minutes, they say.

"All together 42,8892 rides have been taken on e-scooters in Queenstown covering 83,277 kilometres."

Although the contract between the council and Beam allows for up to 400 scooters, staff report only 142 have been in circulation.

Beam has been banned by two other local authorities - Auckland Council and Wellington City Council - after breaches of operational agreements were discovered in recent months.

The QLDC does not receive any payment from Beam, however landowners are reimbursed for each scooter journey that begins on their property.

The full staff report on the Beam e-scooter trial is included in the workshop agenda available here on the council's website.

No tracking of numbers of badly parked Beam scooters

Main image (Supplied): Beam scooters are parked on a footpath near the Queenstown CBD.