Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson takes Beam e-scooter for a test spin

Emergency department staff are bracing for an anticipated spike in injury cases such as fractured wrists, arms and legs - some which would need surgery - after e-scooters launched in Mackay.

Mackay has entered a new era of mobility with the release of Beam e-scooters and it looks as though they are going to be a hit.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson tried out a scooter at Bluewater Quay and he could not keep the smile off his face as he zipped around the open space.

“Very smooth,” he said when asked how it went.

“I’m really impressed by what is on the bike. I think these will be a great success in Mackay.”

Councillor Pauline Townsend also had a go and said she “absolutely loved it.”

“I felt like a kid again,” she said.

“It’s going to be a great connector.”

Singapore-based Beam has introduced the scooters into Mackay, with about 30 parking spots across the city.

The scooters are speed limited and controlled by geo-fencing, which means they will stop working if they go outside the set zone.

The scooters can be used on shared pathways and footpaths and parked anywhere on council land so long as they are not obstructive.

“It’s a great tourism boost,” Mr Williamson said.

MHHS acting director of emergency Dr Bauke Hovinga said it was “inevitable”.

“We know that this is the experience in cities where e-scooters and e-skateboards are popular,” Dr Hovinga said.

“Last year across Queensland there were at least 529 e-scooter related injuries presenting to emergency departments.

“We expect to see people with injuries and hope that they will be minor, however other hospitals have seen fractures to wrists, arms and legs and some of these have required surgery.

“There have also been cases of people with significant head injuries as well as pedestrians injured when they have been hit by a scooter.

“I encourage anyone riding an e-scooter to do so safety and with the correct safety gear.

“If you don’t wear a helmet and your head hits the footpath or a parked car you can have an injury with significant, life-changing consequences.

“Please do not underestimate the risks of riding unsafely. I would also urge people not to ride a scooter while they are drunk or after taking drugs.”

The ins and outs of e-scooters

Beam ANZ general manager Tom Cooper gave us the run-down on how e-scooters will work, and the technology used to ensure public safety and protect against vandalism.

All your questions are answered here.

Beam’s e-scooter riders have already ridden more than six million kilometres in Australia, to date.

We’ve seen them explode in popularity across the country, and they’re about to land in the streets of Mackay.

Residents and visitors alike will soon be able to zip around town on a shared e-scooter, with 300 Beam e-scooters rolling out across the city from next week.

As with any new mode of transport, people may have concerns and questions about how shared micromobility in Mackay will operate.

It is important that the community understands the advanced technology behind shared e-scooters that differ from the personal e-scooters they may have seen, or even shared e-bike schemes from years ago.

Beam has a strong emphasis on safety, investment in technology to monitor operations and nip reckless behaviour in the bud, and investment in education for not only riders but the broader community.

Rest assured, safety is our priority.

For example, we are able to automatically control the speed of e-scooters within certain areas, block rider access to other areas such as high foot-traffic or pedestrian-only streets, and detect and correct rider behaviour as it happens.

Each shared e-scooter is also capped at a maximum speed according to Queensland’s legislation.

In addition, every rider has to acknowledge the riding rules prior to being allowed to start the ride.

Our state-of-the-art GPS navigation system controlling each e-scooter is constantly updated with new ‘no ride’ and ‘slow’ zones, automatically adjusting the speed of each vehicle.

It’s called ‘geofencing’ and it is an important tool in keeping e-scooters out of certain locations.

We also make our purple Beam fleet as safe as possible and are constantly adding new features to improve the experience.

For example, our e-scooters in Mackay will have indicators, phone and cup-holders, a warning bell, a double kick-stand for anti-tipping, triple brakes, and a Bluetooth-locked helmet.

To maintain city amenity, our virtual parking docks utilise technology and GPS to direct riders to appropriate parking spots through a combination of guidance, incentives, and disincentives. It is these virtual parking docks that will be in place in Mackay.

When riders finish their ride, we ask them to take a photo so we know it is parked safely and reward this with credits for future rides. We also reward parking in a designated safe area with credits.

If a rider does the wrong thing, we already know a fair bit about them.

Every e-scooter has its own QR code which means every e-scooter can be tracked and monitored 24/7, with us knowing who the registered rider is at any moment.

This assists us and the police with tracking down riders.

In the event that these occur, we investigate every report made through our 24/7 customer service to ensure the actions of some don’t ruin a good experience for others.

Our three strikes policy ensures those doing the wrong thing are barred from our platform.