Beam Supersedes Neuron for Pioneering Northern Market

Darwin, NT

Beam has won a two-year license to operate in Darwin, ending the northern city’s two-year partnership with another share service provider, Neuron Mobility.

Beam general manager Tom Cooper said the company would bring big changes to the NT capital’s shared micromobility program over the next two years, in partnership with the City of Darwin, following a competitive tender process for a new permit.

It will roll out a total of 750 e-scooters, e-bikes and seated e-scooters across the city on 1st December, with 75 local jobs to be created to manage Beam’s Darwin operations.

“We see Darwin as an optimal city for us to be introducing new technology and new vehicle types, with an increased focus on accelerating modal shift away from cars in a safe and affordable way,” Tom said.

“Adoption of shared e-scooters in Darwin is way past the point of being used only by ‘early adopters’ and is now a mainstream transport choice for significant numbers of the population who have access to them.”

City of Darwin CEO Simone Saunders said the council was impressed with Beam’s offerings, particularly around safety, diversity of micromobility options, innovation, operational capability and sustainability.

“They complement and align with many of our values and strategies, including creating a clean and green city,” she said.

Financially Responsible

Neuron Mobility’s general manager for Australia and NZ, Jayden Bryant, said Neuron is proud to have moved Darwin’s riders millions of kilometres around the city in a safe and sustainable way since establishing the city’s first micromobility program in early 2020.

“In the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to run rental e-scooter programs that are both financially viable and sustainable for the long-term. For this reason we chose not to overinvest, or over promise, in order to renew the contract with the city,” he said in a statement.

“We would like to thank the City of Darwin, our wonderful riders and also the countless number of local businesses and community members for their support.”

Darwin residents and visitors have taken more than three million trips on Neuron e-scooters, travelling over 4.4 million kilometres to date.

Rider surveys indicate 99% of the e-scooters users believe the vehicles have made a positive impact on the city.

A report released in March by consultant Australian Economic Advocacy Solutions showed 80% of Neuron scooter trips in Darwin ended in a purchase at a local business, with an average spend of more than $85.
It found each Neuron e-scooter contributes $173,360 of direct, indirect and enabled spend into Darwin’s local economy per year, and 61% of all Neuron e-scooter trips replace a car journey.

Neuron Trial in Vincent

While Neuron prepares to move out of Darwin, the company last week began a 12-month trial in WA’s City of Vincent, launching 250 e-scooters in the central Perth location.

The riding area will cover the suburbs of Leerdevill, North Perth, Mount Hawthorn and Mount Lawley and will allow riders to travel between City of Vincent and the neighbouring City of Perth, which launched an e-scooter trial with Neuron in March. Riders will be able to access key destinations including HBF Park, Hyde Park, and Beatty Park Leisure Centre.

Neuron revealed its e-scooters have covered more than 280,000 kilometres in the City of Perth since its trial began.

It says 41% of riders are commuting for work or study, suggesting the city’s CBD workforce are using e-scooters as part of their daily commute.

Tauranga Licence for Beam

Beam also announced it has won a two-year license to operate in the NZ coastal city of Tauranga.

It will deliver a fleet of 400 e-scooters in the North Island city, after a trial launched in late 2020 racked up more than 580,000 trips taken and nearly a million kilometres travelled.