Beam and Neuron Will Start Rolling Out Purple and Orange-Hued E-Bikes Across Brisbane Next Month

Ride-sharing isn't just about hopping in someone's car, getting a lift and avoiding a taxi queue. Over the past few years, electric scooter and electronic bicycle services have been popping up on Australia's streets, with companies such as Lime, oBike, Uber and Neuron Mobility bringing their fleets — usually in bright colours — to the nation's cities.

In Brisbane, Beam Mobility is the latest outfit joining the fold. It'll unleash its purple-hued e-bikes upon the Queensland capital — and its its e-scooters, too — as part of a local e-mobility shake up that'll also see Neuron expand its operations. The latter will increase e-scooter fleet, and launch its own e-bike service.

The two companies have been awarded new tenders for both e-bikes and e-scooters, Brisbane City Council has announced, with 800 electric bicycles and 2000 electric scooters set to start zooming around town from Thursday, July 22. That means you'll be seeing purple and orange-coloured vehicles aplenty on the city's streets — but no lime. As part of the new contracts, Lime's existing e-scooters will no longer operate in Brisbane.

Also disappearing: Brissie's long-running City Cycle scheme, with the yellow bikes set to be replaced by Beam and Neuron's electric counterparts. "We look forward to the purple and orange bikes being available for residents and visitors, along with the expanded e-scooter fleet," said Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, announcing the new e-mobility changes in a statement.

Singapore-based outfit Neuron has been operating its vibrant motorised stand-up vehicles in Brisbane since 2019, starting with 200 before gradually rolling out a total of 600 according to market demand. In fact, Brissie was 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.

As for Beam, it already operates scooters in Adelaide and Canberra, in Bunbury in Western Australia, and in New Zealand, South Korea and Malaysia as well — and its Apollo e-bikes made their worldwide debut in Sydney in 2020. While e-bike services are typically dockless, meaning that you can finish your ride wherever you like and just leave your bike there, Beam offers designated parking spots. It calls the scheme 'virtual docking', with customers parking the bikes in predetermined places located by using the company's app.

Neuron Mobility's e-scooters are now available around Brisbane, and its e-bikes will launch on Thursday, July 22. For further details, visit the company's website. 

Beam's e-scooters and e-bikes will launch in Brisbane on Thursday, July 22. For more information, head to the company's website.