Brisbane City Council cancels Beam e-scooter contract amid accusations of bungled numbers

A Brisbane e-scooter contract has been ripped up amid claims the company was cheating local government out of $330,000 worth of revenue.

Beam Mobility e-schooters: Steve Pohlner

Brisbane City Council has cancelled a major e-scooter contract - just two months after signing a new agreement - amid claims the company was cheating local government out of revenue.

A Brisbane City investigation launched into Singapore-based Beam Mobility alleged the company placed on average 500 extra devices daily across the city - exceeding their cap by more than 27 per cent and resulting in $330,000 in lost revenue to Council.

The cancellation of the contract will mean there will be almost 3000 less scooters around for users in the city, while council are yet to announce the operator to replace Beam.

The investigation claims that Beam did not report all hireable devices on 222,975 occasions between 21 July 2023 and 22 July 2024.

Its understood Council will now refer the findings of it’s investigation to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

In July a Brisbane City Council spokesperson said the Council allowed up to 5000 shared e-scooters across the city, before boosting the number of licensed number of scooters to 6000.

“Council allows up to 5000 shared e-scooters, but the overall responsibility for the rules regarding e-scooters sits with the State Government and Queensland Police Service who carry out enforcement,” a spokesperson said.

Brisbane cancelled Beam’s contract on Friday, just two months after signing a new contract with the company that had boosted its contracted cap to 3000.

Civic Cabinet Chair for Transport Councillor Ryan Murphy said investigations concluded Beam systematically exceeded its device cap and as a result Council terminated its contract.

Brisbane City Council investigation alleged Beam did not report all hireable devices on 222,975 occasions between 21 July 2023 and 22 July 2024. Picture: supplied

“Council’s investigation into allegations of device cap breaches by shareable e-scooter provider Beam has been completed,” Cr Murphy said.

“Beam devices will progressively be removed and Council will now seek to replace Beam with a new e-mobility operator as soon as practical.”

Mr Murphy said Lime would step in to make up for the shortfall in scooters for commuters, with a new operator to be announced.

“I want to reassure the public there are no operational or safety issues with the scheme and while these matters are disappointing we remain confident e-mobility has a strong place in the transport future of our city,” Mr Murphy said.

Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture: Lachie Millard

A Beam spokesperson said there were no immediate changes to operations in Brisbane and services were currently operating as usual.

It comes as Auckland City Council referred Beam Mobility to New Zealand police and cancelled its scooter contract with the company after it alleged the licenced cap had been exceeded daily by an average of 40 per cent.

Wellington City Council also suspended its contract with Beam on Friday.

It’s understood there were multiple investigations launched by a limited number of councils into Beam’s conduct, with some councils not imposing caps or maximum vehicle allocations.

A Beam Mobility spokesperson said they were “disappointed” by Brisbane City Council’s action to cancel their licence.

“The decision is surprising given our positive interactions with the Council on this matter to date,” the spokesperson said.

“We disagree with the reported assertions and claims made by BCC on this matter and believe the Council’s findings are highly premature. We will now be reviewing our options.

“As previously announced, Beam has appointed external advisers to manage an independent audit process, to examine the issues that have been raised regarding Beam’s fleet management system.

“Beam takes its obligations regarding fleet management seriously and is determined to work with its council partners on these issues.”

Neuron previously held a contract alongside Beam for Brisbane, but it was cancelled and awarded to Lime.

A Neuron spokesperson in July said the e-scooter company had 1800 e-scooters in the city.