Paint it purple: E-scooters from ousted company return to Brisbane

The e-scooters and e-bikes once owned by banned company Beam Mobility are returning to Brisbane streets, but not as you might expect, as the global micromobility hire company merges with one of its key competitors.

Neuron Mobility announced it had merged its Australian operations with Beam, and expected to return 700 purple – albeit rebranded and refurbished – e-scooters to Brisbane streets.

“After years of competing head to head, we’re delighted to bring together the strengths of both companies under the Neuron banner,” Neuron Australia and New Zealand general manager Jayden Bryant said.

Purple scooters are returning to Brisbane streets after ousted Beam Mobility merged with Neuron Mobility.Credit: Neuron Mobility

The former Beam vehicles are refitted with Neuron proprietary technology and safety features, sport orange branding and accents, and are bookable through the Neuron app.

Beam had been selling its old fleet to private e-mobility riders, after it was ousted last year after the company allegedly defrauded the Brisbane City Council with hundreds of “ghost” machines.

The council revealed at the time a months-long investigation had shown the micromobility company exceeding its vehicle cap of 1800 vehicles by about 500 a day.

It claimed the company misreported its number of active e-scooters and e-bikes more than 250,000 times in the year leading up to July 22, 2024, amounting to a shortfall in fees to the council of more than $330,000. Beam scooters were then replaced by Neuron.

Brisbane has fluctuated between the two Singaporean micromobility companies and San Francisco-based Lime since 2019, when it first brought e-scooters onto Brisbane streets.

Lime was the first company awarded a contract with the council for 400 scooters in 2019, following a successful trial in late 2018.

The green fleet was followed by a 600-strong fleet from Neuron that year, but was replaced by Beam in 2021.

Neuron was removed when the council opted to support Lime and Beam scooters in Brisbane, with the council approving at the time a collective 2350 e-scooters and 800 e-bikes across the two companies.

Lime returned to Brisbane in 2024, it will remain alongside Neuron’s now orange-and-purple fleet as one of two suppliers in the city.Credit: Courtney Kruk

The council has previously supported a “competitive process” between the three major companies vying for a spot in Brisbane, but residents remained divided on hireable and private e-scooters.

The first fatal incident linked to an e-scooter in Australia was recorded in Brisbane just months after Lime rolled out its fleet, when a 50-year-old man fell and suffered head injuries and a cardiac arrest in South Bank.

E-mobility companies have also been habitually removed from cities following safety concerns and municipal law violations, alongside routine contract turnovers.

In the 2023-24 financial year, Queensland Heath reported more than 1300 emergency room presentations from e-scooter injuries, with the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital accounting for 480 alone.

The state government launched a review into micromobility devices earlier this year that remains open, with public hearings slated for Robina, Palm Beach, and Caloundra this week.

The inquiry is expected to determine whether Queensland will tweak legislation for e-mobility devices, with the option to outlaw them completely firmly on the table.