Auckland Council has revoked Beam’s e-scooter license, requiring the Singapore-based company to deactivate its fleet by midnight, due to alleged violation of the operator’s licence conditions.
The decision follows an investigation into allegations that Beam exceeded its permitted limit of 1,200 e-scooters (1,400 including seated models) by deploying an additional 300 e-scooters and manipulating monitoring software. The allegations were made by a whistleblower.
The claims surfaced in a report by The Weekend Australian, which claimed Beam defrauded several councils by operating unregistered e-scooters and withholding revenue.
Beam has denied any wrongdoing, stating that the extra scooters were intended to replace broken or missing units.
However, the company is also accused of intentionally concealing the additional scooters from council monitoring systems.
Mervyn Chetty, Auckland Council’s manager of licensing and environmental health, said: “Limits on e-scooter numbers are in place for the safety of other road and footpath users and to minimise nuisance in and around our city.
“It appears that Beam found a way to sidestep these requirements, which is very disappointing and has resulted in a loss of trust and confidence in the operator.
“Beam has not provided a satisfactory response to our concerns, as such we have made the decision to cancel their licence, effective immediately. We have asked that all vehicles be deactivated by 11.59pm tonight [Tuesday 27 August], and all devices removed from Auckland’s streets by 5pm Friday 30 August.”
Despite Beam’s apology and explanation, the council found their response unsatisfactory and moved to cancel their license immediately.
Beam has been instructed to deactivate all e-scooters by 11:59pm tonight and remove them from Auckland streets by 5pm on Friday. The council is now considering new tenders for e-scooter licences, with all current licenses set to expire in November.
Alan Jiang, co-founder and CEO, Beam, said the company was aware of “instances where we have exceeded the vehicle allocation” as a result.
He added: “For any breaches in the caps, we have apologised and intend to take steps to remedy. We have since committed to a full and thorough revision of our processes to ensure this does not happen again.
“We will work closely with our council partners on an appropriate response.”
This move is set to significantly impact Auckland’s micromobility market, with Beam’s departure potentially halving the number of available e-scooters if no other operators fill the gap.
Wellington City Council and other Australian councils are also investigating similar allegations against Beam.
Achievements and innovations in e-mobility will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
