Beam-riding car owners drive less

E-mobility is helping reduce car ownership and use.

That’s according to the latest survey results from shared micromobility company Beam, revealing 68% of Kiwi Beam e-scooter riders still own a car but that 35% are less likely to use them.

About 25% state they are “likely”, “more likely” or “definitely” going to sell their car in the near future due to their access to shared e-scooters.

Even car owners who have not reduced their car usage to date are considering selling their car, with 19% of these stating they are “likely”, “more likely” or “definitely” going to sell their car soon because of e-scooter use.

Results show that of the 32% of riders who live the car-free lifestyle, 20% reveal they sold their car as a result of having access to shared e-scooters.

Of those people intending to buy a car in the next five years, 38% say they are “less likely” or “much less likely” to do so through e-scooter use.

The survey shows the potential long-term of micromobility to reduce congestion on roads and contribute to net-zero targets.

Data shows 65% of Beam’s riders are commuters – both work and study, with more than half its riders aged 25-34.

“Reducing car usage and swapping to carbon-neutral alternatives such as walking, cycling and e-mobility is arguably one of the simplest solutions to climate change we have available, and we’re thrilled to see our Kiwi riders riding this change,” Beam Australia and New Zealand general manager Tom Cooper says.

“It’s amazing to see our riders making big shifts in the way they get around, and this is the first time since launching operations in New Zealand where riders have revealed their trust in micromobility enough to go car-free altogether.

“Global research into car usage shows that, on average, nearly half of all car trips taken involve transporting one person less than five kilometres.

Cooper says Beam’s main mission is to turn these little drives into more eco-friendly rides by replacing them with e-mobility.

“Advanced LCA modelling on an Australasian city has shown that for every kilometre travelled on an e-scooter rather than a fossil fuelled car, 260 grams of CO2 emissions are avoided,” Cooper says.

“Based on the average distance covered by a Beam e-scooter or e-bike in a year, that adds up to 560 kg of CO2 emissions saved – the equivalent of the natural carbon reducing power of 56 pine trees.”

Beam operates in Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North and Whangarei.