E-scooter companies target Brisbane after Lime kicked out of Adelaide

Two new electric scooter companies may be hopeful of toppling popular scooter company Lime from prime position on Brisbane's streets, after Adelaide City Council recently evicted Lime in favour of scooter companies Beam and RIDE.

Earlier this year, Adelaide City Council held an expression of interest process for up to two scooter companies to operate in the city until October, after Lime had operated a two-month trial on the streets.

A Lime scooter user on the streets of Brisbane.Credit: AAP

Beam and RIDE were the two successful companies, prompting a sharp rebuke from Lime.

"The City of Adelaide will now request Lime to cease operations across the City of Adelaide after it was unsuccessful in its bid to secure one of the two new permits," the council statement said last week.

On Monday, Lime's director of government affairs Mitchell Price said the Adelaide trial had been "rushed" and the result was "disappointing".

Beam's vice-president of corporate affairs Christopher Hilton said the company was confident that its "comprehensive proposal submission" and its experience in operating in Australia would help it win the Brisbane tender.

"Beam will be submitting a proposal to the ongoing tender process in Brisbane. We are excited at the possibility of offering an alternative transport option to all Brisbanites," he said.

"We remain disappointed that the current e-scooter provider has been given the advantage of nine months of operations to support their application but, as we have seen recently in Adelaide, incumbency does not guarantee victory."

Lime has been comfortably established in Brisbane since November last year after successfully convincing the state and the council to allow it to operate on a trial basis.

After multiple serious injuries were reported, linked to a firmware glitch that locked up the front wheel and sent riders flying overhead, Brisbane City Council put the firm on notice for two weeks to fix the issue.

The problem was resolved and Lime's permit was extended again until the middle of the year.

Last month the council opened the tender process for two scooter companies to operate for two years in Brisbane, with more than 12 companies expected to tender for a permit to operate 500 scooters each.

"Council is currently accepting tender proposals for up to two e-scooter companies to operate in Brisbane," a Brisbane City Council spokesman said.

"All operators are encouraged to apply ahead of the tender closing at 12pm on Wednesday.

"Safety is paramount and it is council’s expectation that any Brisbane e-scooter schemes are able to operate safely."

The two companies who win Brisbane's tender process will each be required to pay a $5000 flat permit fee, plus $570 per scooter they operate on the streets, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars for Brisbane City Council.

Beam has previously criticised the council for keeping the scooter trial to Lime alone, arguing it gave the company an unfair advantage ahead of the procurement process.Credit: Lucy Stone

Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner said last month that the fees were only fair as council was spending money on compliance and maintenance around the scooters.

Said Lime's Mr Price: "We have been committed to paying the fee, which is one of the highest fees in the world for scooters, but we are prepared to pay that."

He said Lime scooters had ticked just over 800,000 trips in Brisbane, and by the end of June was predicted to hit one million trips.

He said the company would present a "strong argument" in it submission to continue operating in Brisbane, with the company preparing for a long-term future in the city, including dockless electric cars, not just scooters.

The 500-scooter limit per company, however, had sparked some criticism from Lime.

Mr Price said Lime had told the council the limit should be scalable, so scooters could be spread across the city and not concentrated in just the CBD.

Beam and RIDE are also both submitting tenders to council as the deadline of April 17 closes in.

RIDE chief executive Tom Cooper said winning a permit in Adelaide made RIDE the first Australian-owned company selected to operate in Australia.

"This is a huge achievement for us as a company and shows that our service is competitive and meets the transport and sustainability needs of a major capital city," he said.

"Brisbane really is a new world city and we are excited to show council how we can be part of it."

Mr Cooper said RIDE's scooters had a lower centre of gravity, rear-wheel drive and brakes, and an adjustable steering column.