• 10 million rides have been taken on Beam e-scooters and e-bikes in Australia
• $10 million AUD has been invested on research and development in Australia to date, bringing industry-first tech upgrades to cities

[15 August 2023] Australia’s largest micromobility company Beam will reach its 10 million ride milestone tomorrow, with trips in 27 cities across Australia cementing the future of micromobility in the country. 

The first Australian Beam trip was taken in Adelaide in April 2019, with over 10,000 Beam e-scooters and e-bikes now available on the streets of Australia today.

The introduction of shared micromobility has transformed communities in Australian cities and regions by providing a new carbon neutral, accessible and cost-effective mode of public transport. 

Whether it’s visitors or locals, e-scooters are now an important option in the transport mix, moving people for both work and leisure, complementing traditional means of public transport and providing a more viable alternative to privately owned vehicles - especially cars. 

It’s working - Beam’s latest research from riders around the country revealed that 48% of trips on a Beam would’ve been made in a car instead (whether a privately owned car or rideshare vehicle), if shared micromobility hadn’t been available.

Whilst car ownership amongst Australian shared micromobility users is still high - 80% of Beam’s riders still own a car - surveys showed 67% of riders saying having access to e-scooters had reduced their reliance on a car. 

In Brisbane, where shared micromobility was first trialled in Australia back in 2018 making it the most mature shared micromobility market, 77% of Beam riders now say that having access to e-scooters has made them reconsider car ownership. 40% of Brisbane riders utilise Beam’s e-scooters between 3 times per week to 10 times per week.

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 Beam General Manager (ANZ) Tom Cooper, said: 

“The average e-scooter trip is 2.5km long, and we have seen recent investment in new fleet types such as our seated e-scooters increase this distance to 3.5km.

“It gives us confidence that micromobility is a true, viable option to replace cars for trips under 5km - and that the demand has yet to be met - and we look forward to continuing our support of cities on that journey.”

With a number of cutting-edge technologies already active on the market as ANZ firsts, Mr Cooper said the company’s AUD $10 million investment into research and development for its operations in Australia has allowed Beam to set higher safety and operational standards for the industry. 
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“Micromobility is the next wave of transport for Australia’s growing cities, and operators have a responsibility to ensure their technology is top-tier, especially with technology advancing at a rapid pace. 

“We’re proud of our 10 million ride milestone, but are even prouder that the next 10 million rides will see new technology employed to educate and enforce safe rider use, and new business and community programs to grow adoption further.”

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Beam’s recent key technology and hardware upgrades include:

• Beam’s Rider Check - a cognitive-based drink riding deterrence test - has been active since December 2022, and is currently live in cities including Geraldton, Esperance and Broome, supporting police enforcement efforts and deterring drink riding on the platform. 
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• The launch of Beam’s fifth-generation Saturn 5 e-scooter, featuring Australian-first upgrades - higher precision geofencing, an increased range of 120km, and wireless and hands-free phone charging whilst riding. 
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• Beam’s ‘Pedestrian Shield’ technology, first trialled in Hobart in March, brought AI-powered path detection and rider enforcement technology to Australia in a country first. The technology will be fully integrated into the entire fleet of e-scooters in Melton, Victoria, this September. 
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• In the past month, seated e-scooters have been introduced to Brisbane, Geraldton, Esperance and Rockingham, bringing a more accessible option to encourage longer trips. Early data shows that riders travel 30% further on a seated e-scooter, as opposed to a standing one.