Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington City Council has banned e-scooter company Beam from operating in the capital after breaking its fleet cap.
Two weeks ago, following whistleblower allegations the council suspended Beam’s license leading to its scooters being removed.
Wellington City Council said a report from platform Ride Report showed Beam had operated on average an extra 100 e-scooters more than it was meant to between 26 July 2023 and 21 June 2024, which was a breach of its licence.
Chief planning officer Liam Hodgetts said after considering information provided by Beam, Ride Report and the whistleblower the council concluded the license had been materially breached.
“It is now clear to us that there have been breaches of Beam’s licence to Trade in Public and the Operator Code of Practice.
“Of particular concern is the admitted breach of the e-scooter cap, and failure to communicate openly with the Council regarding these breaches.
“We have also found Beam’s responses to be inadequate and as a result there has been a loss of trust and confidence.”
Hodgetts said cancelling the license was not a decision the council took lightly but noted that elected members set a cap to ensure a balance between having enough devices to meet demand while reducing the risk to pedestrians of footpath clutter.
“This has clearly been breached and as such we deem termination of the licence to be the most appropriate course of action.”
The company’s license was also cancelled in Auckland for the same reason.