William Robertson cleaned up by Beam scooters, forced off road for six weeks

A Townsville mechanic has been forced off the road after a tribe of drunk, law flouting scooter riders cleaned him up.

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A TOWNSVILLE mechanic has been forced off the road after a tribe of drunk, law flouting scooter riders cleaned him up.

William Robertson, 33, has been left out of pocket and without his set of wheels for up to six weeks after three people riding Beam scooters crashed into his electric bicycle on Saturday, January 16.

“I ride a $2500 bike, it’s gone flying, I busted my finger and have bruises … the scooter riders just got up and left,” he said.

Mr Robertson was cycling on Eyre St about 8pm when he came around a corner and faced three riders coming through a roundabout.

He said they were not wearing helmets, were clearly intoxicated, and ran head-on into his bike.

The collision cost Mr Robertson a few hundred dollars in repairs and six weeks off the road as he waits for parts.

William Robertston got cleaned up by a bunch of e-scooter riders while on his $2500 electric bike. . Picture: Alix Sweeney

The frustrated North Ward resident has tried to contact the scooter company six times to get the ball rolling on repairs, but claims he has been met with crickets.

“They keep saying ‘we will pass it on’, but I’m out of work at the moment, my bike is my only way of getting around.”

The Beam scooters were introduced in the city in October, shortly after the rollout and success of Neuron scooters.

Beam rolled out scooters in Townsville in October.

Townsville Police were forced to remind riders of the dos and don’ts of the scooters, but many continue to flout the rules.

A spokesman from Beam said the company emailed Mr Robertson on the day of his first request, but admitted the complaint was not escalated properly in an “unusual and unfortunate” error on its part.

“We have this morning reached out to the customer and offered him the use of one of our e-scooters for free while his bike is being repaired,” the spokesman said.

“Beam is able to track all of the riders on the e-scooter and can provide this information to police services if requested.

“We are also able to warn and ban users who ride dangerously.”

The spokesman said there would be a safety academy training day coming to Townsville in the “coming weeks”.

Originally published as William Robertson cleaned up by Beam scooters, forced off road for six weeks