Tactile signage for Beam’s Porirua e-scooters

Beam has introduced New Zealand-first upgrades on its e-scooter fleet in Porirua to support the blind, deafblind and low vision community.

A trial of tactile signage on e-scooters has begun in Porirua to allow those who are blind, deafblind or have low vision to better identify e-scooters and report issues such as badly parked e-scooters.

The tactile signage features raised lettering and a QR code leading to Beam’s 24-hour ‘Report a Beam’ channels. The vehicle number is automatically pre-filled, and completing the form will dispatch a Beam marshal to the location to move the e-scooter.

Learnings from the trial will power a wider regional roll-out of tactile signage.

“We believe that everyone in the active transport community has a part to play in protecting other vulnerable road users, especially as the prevalence of shared micromobility continues to grow,” says Beam ANZ general manager Tom Cooper.

“With e-scooters forming a part of the transport mix in Porirua, and growing in number across the country, we see the need for shared micromobility operators such as ourselves to continue to listen to the local community and seek upgrades to better support those we share the streets with.

“We are committed to listening and to trialling new solutions to improve road safety for all members of the community.”