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A 12-month trial of electric scooters in Esperance has been among the most successful in the country, with Shire councillors set to vote on making the purple transport permanent.

Beam Mobility entered Esperance ahead of the peak tourist season last year and has seen better than expected results from their trial — which saw them increase the number of scooters available shortly after it started.

Since then, the scooters have been on 87,487 trips and travelled 222,965km with more than 13,000 different users.

A report set to be considered by the council on Tuesday said the trial had been a hit with locals and travellers.

“Beam have advised that Esperance has the highest per scooter utilisation across their Australia/New Zealand network with significantly higher than expected commute use,” it said.

“There has been a large number of positive comments around the initiative which has been particularly popular in Esperance.

“In the officer’s opinion Beam Scooters has had a positive tourism and economic development impact upon Esperance.”

The Shire said it believed limited public transport was a contributing factor to the success.

It said the company had been “good to deal with” and had altered slow zones, no-go zones and parking zones as requested.

The report said the Shire had received three formal complaints in relation to the e-scooter trial.

“These have predominantly been around safety concerns as well as various service requests due to scooters being left in an untidy manner,” it said.

“Ongoing improvements to safety are also occurring, with Beam advising that they have recently implemented a cognitive function within the app as a measure to combat people looking to use scooters when affected by alcohol, as well as identified go-slow areas where there is high interaction between pedestrians and scooter riders.”

Esperance Hospital advised the Shire there had been an increase in the number of electric scooter injuries.

However, it said this had not greatly affected the emergency department and there had only been a few admissions to the inpatient unit from injuries related to electric scooters.

Local police were also consulted, with Esperance officer-in-charge Peter Arancini looking at the first 50 Beam scooters that came his way during a two-day period.

Out of 50 scooters, 41 riders were not wearing a helmet — with no gender or age group standing out as the culprits.

He also said four of those scooters were being ridden by two or more people at the same time.

In his letter to the council he said there would be a more scientific way to analyse the usage, but it was clear from observations that “very few” riders were wearing helmets.

The top cop also expressed concerns that an additional 100 scooters on the paths could lead to more accidents.

Shire staff have recommended councillors approve a permit allowing Beam Mobility to continue operating in the coastal town on a permanent basis.

The company has approached the Shire about adding a footpath along Sims Street to enable people commuting from Nulsen to Chadwick to have a more direct route.

Beam Mobility also believes the system can be improved by increasing the coverage through residential areas.

These suggestions were based on usage data the company received from its app.

After paying a $1 fee to unlock the scooters — which are available 24 hours a day — punters are then charged 45¢ a minute.

Once on board, users can see the full riding area, which extends from Twilight Beach to Bandy Creek, and inland to the suburbs of Nulsen and Sinclair, bordering on Chadwick and Castletown.

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