Scooters on streets within weeks
Queenstowners can expect to see Beam electric scooters on the streets by the end of the month.
The state-of-the-art purple scooters will be available to ride in downtown Queenstown, Fernhill, Gorge Road, Frankton, Remarkables Park and Kawarau Falls, as part of the two-year trial by the company.
They'll be parked at participating businesses, with extra charges for any rider who fails to return a scooter to a parking hub. The scooters will cost $1 to unlock then 65 cents per minute, although there will be an as-yet unconfirmed locals' rate.
Adam Rossetto, Head of Business Development, ANZ, Beam Mobility, says the parking hub system, which sees Beam partner with private property owners and business operators, is a different model to 90% of its other markets.
"If people don't park in those parking spots, then essentially the meter keeps running, so this is obviously a really strong disincentive to do that," Rossetto says. "In 99% of cases, it really does result in compliant parking."
Beam will deploy a brand new vehicle in Queenstown - the Saturn 5, built by Ninebot Segway in China.
"It's one of the safest and most technologically advanced vehicle in the world today," he says.
It has a black box with GPS, hydraulic suspension, a phone charger, Google Maps integration, a quick-change battery, indicators, a number plate and smart safety lights, all built on an aircraft-grade aluminium frame. It is unlocked with a smartphone App.
The top speed is 25km and it has a 120km range.
The GPS tech allows Beam to geo-fence the scooters, meaning they can only operate in certain areas, and can their speed can be limited in places like The Mall. They can also be shut down remotely and recovered easily if abandoned or stolen.
The Saturn 5 also has automatic collision and accident detection, automatic detection of vehicle faults and downhill speed limiting.
"Safety really is at the forefront of what we do, both for riders and just as importantly, for the wider non-riding community," Rossetto says.
Beam has zero fatalities across 22 million trips and lowest incident rate in NZ, and $20 million public liability insurance.
The company will operate a 24-hour marshal team and a toll-free phone service for complaints and enquiries. Scooters will be removed from the CBD overnight.
Beam has 15 scooter hubs ready to go but initially wants 20, so is still looking for partnerships, before expanding to 40 later in the year. It will launch with 150 scooters and scale up to 300.
It's the largest micro-mobility provider in Asia Pacific, operating 50,000 vehicles across nine countries, including 4000 in NZ, in Auckland, Wellington, Napier, Palmerston North, Whanganui and Taupo.
As alternative to cars for short journeys, the scooters reduce congestion and environmental impact, helping with the first and last mile of the journey, Rossetto says.
They also increase overall mobility in urban areas.
"People can travel further and spend more money and especially in a tourist area, like Queenstown."
