E-scooters: Town of Cambridge Mayor says council didn’t renew hire e-scooters program as inquiry underway

The Town of Cambridge has ordered the removal of hire e-scooters from popular coastal areas including City Beach as they await the outcome of a parliamentary inquiry examining the devices. Mayor Gary Mack said councillors decided to not renew their contract with Beam Mobility while the parliamentary inquiry was underway. “We wanted to wait until the outcome of the of that inquiry, or the report from that inquiry as to where we take it next,” he said. “Obviously, the inquiry is going to look at e-rideables as a whole, everything from bikes to scooters and other forms of transport, but as well as the hire e-scooters that are available up and down the coast.” Mr Mack said he was concerned about the fatal e-scooter crash in the Perth CBD earlier this year, which resulted in the death of pedestrian Thanh Phan. “Obviously, the city has got a lot more pedestrian traffic, but then in the suburbs, having said that, the coastal path during summer quite busy with walkers, cyclists, dog walkers and and scooter riders,” Mr Mack said. “We’re very mindful of the potential for accidental injury while people were using those scooters around other users of the paths. A Cambridge spokesperson told The West earlier this year they had no intent to suspend the service in the wake of Mr Phan’s death. Mr Mack said there were no serious hire e-scooter crashes recorded in the Town of Cambridge since they were introduced, which include areas around City Beach, Floreat Beach and Peasholm Dog Beach. “Some residents, and this wasn’t the reason for the council decision, primarily, were concerned that these the rows of scooters, again, some people seem to knock them over,” he said. “They’re worried about them sort of being found in parkland areas, areas off the site where people have finished their scooter ride and just left them where they are, be it in the reserves or elsewhere. “We can renew the contract, we can enter into negotiations anytime in the future, but council, I think, just wants to wait to see what the report suggests. The local government wrapped up a 12-month trial with Beam Mobility this year, with more than 4500 rides recorded. Beam made about 170 of the purple devices available for the trial and estimated travellers avoided creating 2500kg of vehicle emissions. A Beam spokesperson said the trial in the City of Cambridge ended in July. “The conclusion of the trial was not related to any safety or performance concerns of the program,” they said. “Since launching in April 2024, the service has been well used, and incredibly safe with no serious incidents reported — a testament to the responsible behaviour of local riders and our commitment to safety.” Cambridge entered an agreement with the City of Stirling to share the micro-mobility services across their boundaries until mid-July. The City of Perth and the City of Vincent both scrapped agreements with e-scooter providers in the wake of the pedestrian death. Police commissioner Col Blanch told a Parliamentary inquiry into the safety and regulation of e-rideables on Wednesday that he didn’t want high-powered e-scooters and motorbikes on the streets unless they were licensed. The e-rideable inquiry was expanded to probe electric motorbikes — which are currently subject to the same laws as typical road bikes — after a 59-year-old nurse was killed when hit by one in Edgewater last month. The City of Stirling and Beam Mobility have been approached for comment.