Lake Macquarie purple e-bikes: councillors slam e-bike trial as Beam bikes are left strewn across the city

The Beam e-bike trial started five months ago and the purple two-wheelers have been seen toppled over and strewn across the city since.

On Monday, a "cranky" Cr Jason Pauling put the provider on notice, arguing it hasn't taken the trial seriously and has left council facing constant criticism from the community.

"I cannot express how disappointed I am in the execution of this trial," he said.

"I've seen them scattered on their sides, sit there for days on end, I've seen them on footpaths, stored recklessly in people's front yards.

"Beam, clean up your act or I'm going to push as hard as I can to get this scuttled and try again with someone who can do it.

"From my perspective they should consider themselves on notice, because they have squandered an opportunity, they have been given a monopoly position and they've made a mess of it and I am hugely disappointed on behalf of this city."

A Beam spokeswoman said the company acknowledged and had responded to concerns about inappropriate parking through investment in rider education and enforcement, as well as added patrols.

"In recent weeks we have tripled our Beam marshals' street hours to increase the speed of our response to bad parking reports, and to increase enforcement of our three strikes policy," she said.

"As part of our three strikes policy, we issue warnings and permanent bans for repeated bad parking, identifying bad parkers through the end trip photos every rider takes after each trip, and also through marshal patrols.

"We have seen parking compliance improve as a result, over the past couple of weeks, and are confident that the additional measures we've put in place will deter improper parking by riders, and ensure prompt action by our team should e-bikes cause obstructions."

The council voted to request monthly reports on trip data, safety incidents and problem resolutions from the trial.

The company said it has reported monthly to the council on its operations since the trial began, and that marshalls would ramp up over summer "where we expect an increase in usage".

Councillors also want a standing invitation to the working group established to monitor and support the trial, made up of police, Transport for NSW, Dantia and other stakeholders - as well as minutes from those meetings.

The trial was the result of negotiations between Dantia, the council's independent economic development company, and Beam, the largest shared e-mobility operator in the Asia-Pacific.

Frustrations flared at Monday's meeting, with councillors arguing they were "blind-sided" by the trial and weren't consulted in negotiations.

Since it began in July, more than 3500 people have registered to use the bikes, travelling more than 30,000 kilometres in total.

A e-scooter trial began in the city last week, the first of its kind in the state.

According to the council, Beam can tell when bikes have toppled over and the agreement between Dantia and the global micro-mobility company is that they should be picked up within three hours.

While councillors are supportive of the concept, the execution has left them scratching their heads.

Cr Jones said he'd lost faith in the provider, calling the roll-out an "absolute joke".

"It's just hilarious how bad this thing has been," he said.

"I'm sure I'm not the only councillor that's well and truly over it."

And, he wasn't, mayor Kay Fraser said she's fielded multiple phone calls and comments from frustrated members of the community.

"It's very disappointing it hasn't been successful, and it should have been a success," she said.

"I think you're right to call on Beam to lift their game, to do better, this is our city and we pride ourselves on keeping our city neat and tidy.

"We allowed them in our city and we expect them to respect our city."

The trial is expected to run up to 12 months.

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