SINGAPORE - Singapore-headquartered start-up Beam says it did not manipulate its e-scooter numbers in Australia and New Zealand.
This comes amid ongoing investigations by the authorities in both countries over claims that the firm manipulated software to deploy more vehicles than permitted.
Australian media reported last week that Beam allegedly placed hundreds of unregistered e-scooters on the streets in Australia and New Zealand, supposedly done to bypass vehicle registration fees. The move is also in violation of pedestrian safety restrictions set by the local authorities.
A spokesman for Beam confirmed in response to The Straits Times on Sept 2 that investigations from some town councils in Australia and New Zealand are under way, but said that the firm “strongly rejects” the characterisation of its vehicle management and believes that “there has been a rush to judgment based on selectively leaked correspondence”.
“We disagree that there were systemic issues of under-reporting,” he added.
According to a report by The Australian, Beam is accused of feeding inaccurate data to the independent monitoring app Ride Report to understate the number of e-scooters in each city, making it seem like it was within legal limits.
The data supposedly displayed some e-scooters as being unavailable or “unknown” due to issues like low battery or damage, which caused them to be left out of Beam’s public vehicle tally. But the e-scooters could still be used by riders.
The report noted that local governments in Brisbane, the Australian Capital Territory and Townsville in Australia, as well as Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, are investigating claims that Beam exceeded their licensed vehicle limits by deploying over 1,000 additional e-scooters.
This was allegedly done to avoid paying the annual registration fees and a share of the fare revenue to the local governments.
The spokesman said the company has committed to a “full and thorough” investigation of its processes, and has hired a “top-tier legal firm” to audit Beam’s data and governance practices and address any potential issues with vehicle caps.
He added: “We have provided reassurances to unaffected councils and will be sharing the results of our investigations with all local government partners.”
Founded in 2018, Beam operates in over 60 countries worldwide. In April, the company reported a 36 per cent increase in revenue from the previous year, reaching US$53 million (S$69.3 million).
In 2022, Beam raised US$93 million in a funding round led by Affirma Capital, with participation from investors like Sequoia Capital India, Hana Ventures and EDBI.
