Overview
Fond of zipping around Brisbane on a brightly coloured, two-wheeled mode of transport? If you're making your way across the inner-city, you now have two choices. While Lime's suitably green electric scooters have been available since last year, Brisbanites can now also go orange by jumping on one of Neuron Mobility's new e-scooters.
The Singapore-based outfit has unleashed 200 of its vibrant motorised stand-up vehicles on Brissie's streets, with the full fleet of 600 due to be rolled out gradually according to market demand. And they're not just any old motorised stand-up e-scooters. Brisbane is the first place in the world to receive the company's latest model: the N3. These feature 12-inch tyres and a 21-centimetre-wide floorboard, are designed for better safety and stability, and can travel up to 50 kilometres on one battery charge. The N3 also uses modular parts that can be replaced easily (as opposed to replacing the whole scooter), and is adaptable to different road conditions.
If you're keen to hop on one of Neuron's new rides, you'll need to be in its ride zone boundary. At the moment, that includes the CBD, Fortitude Valley, New Farm Teneriffe, as well as Petrie Terrace and some of Milton. On the other side of the river, South Brisbane, West End and Kangaroo Point are covered.
The areas the scooters will operate in.
As well as a GPS-enabled parking indicator on its handlebar display, the N3 comes with in-built geo-fencing technology, which means that the orange vehicles can't venture beyond a specific zone. If you're in a spot that you're not supposed to be in, the e-scooters will stop completely. The software not only controls the designated boundary, but the maximum speed of travel, as well as where you can park — and where you can't.
So far, more than 10,000 Brissie residents have signed up with Neuron, which received a tender from Brisbane City Council just last month. When all of the company's tangerine N3s hit the streets, Brisbane's entire e-scooter fleet will number 1000 — including 400 from Lime, which was forced by BCC to reduce its vehicles down from around 750 when Neuron was awarded the rights to set up shop in the city.
Price-wise, Neuron's scooters cost $1 to unlock, then 38 cents per minute to ride. The service works in a familiar way, requiring patrons to download the company's app, scan a QR code on their chosen scooter and ride to wherever they need to within the operating zone. Then, once you've found a parking spot, you add a photo of the stationary scooter to the app to finish the transaction.
Neuron Mobility's e-scooters are now available around Brisbane. For further details, visit the company's website.