Issue #892

by Paul Taylor, Queenstown Media Group

Riding along Shotover Street and my Beam e-scooter suddenly slows down to almost walking pace.

This could be for one of three reasons: the battery is dying, the fancy GPS ring-fencing system which limits speed in certain zones has kicked in, or, and this is the most likely reason, because I’ve been driving like a dick.
In the last few minutes, I’ve been on both sides of the road, on a zebra crossing and the pavement, narrowly avoiding a chef carrying what appears to be buckets of seafood chowder. I half expect two workmen in overalls to appear, gingerly carrying an oversized pane of glass. It has been that type of trip.

There were some minor tech issues at the start, outside Industrial Fitness off Gorge Road, but other than that the e-scooters are easy to use and fun, hitting a speed of about 24kmph. When I approach the Gorge Road / Shotover Street junction, however, I realise I don’t know the road rules for these things. There were some safety messages on the App at the start, but nothing specific. Am I traffic? Maybe. I wait for the traffic lights to change. A group of pub golfers pass by and I half expect them to shout “scooter!” or something equally imaginative. I do feel like a dork in my purple helmet. Then I spot two other beam riders, with flowery shirts and with a boom box (suspiciously cool, likely Beam plants), casually riding where the pedestrians cross.

Ok, maybe there are no rules I think, so I forget about waiting for green and scoot along the pavement and down Memorial Street, charge across the roundabout, and down past the Sofitel, to Shotover St, and across pavements, chefs, etc. The speed slows and remains about 14kmph all the way along Lake Esplanade to the YHA, which makes me suspect I’ve been limited by the Beam overlords, which is something they will do, they say. Dismounting, I’m a little shocked to find the 13-minute trip costs me $10. It is a 35-minute walk back.

These scooters will cause problems. I’m reasonably responsible but still just jumped on and made it up as I went along. There will be crashes and at least one will end up in the Wakatipu Vessel sculpture by Steamer Wharf or the lake. Even though the parking hub system is much better than having them lying around everywhere, they’re not locked in, so can just be picked up and carried by anyone drunk enough. But the main issue as I see it is they don’t really solve any of Queenstown’s problems. For all the talk about the ‘last mile’, they’re too expensive for commuting across town. Any locals rate would have to be a massive discount, to make it work. It’s easier and cheaper to just own a bike.

But, that’s no reason to be super negative about them. Maybe they don’t have to solve problems. Maybe the flowery shirt guys had it right, pay the $30 for 24 hours and take a tour around downtown and have some fun.