A Sunshine Coast e-scooter operator will “double down” on its mission to deliver safe rides as it prepares to share the local market with an international company.
Oggy E-Scooters launched in Mooloolaba in January 2021 and its green scooters have been embraced as an addition to providing more sustainable transport options across the region.
In two years, the company has grown from 20 scooters and two hubs to 150 scooters spread across 22 parking hubs from Caloundra to Noosa.
Last month, it was revealed Singapore-based Neuron Mobility will provide e-scooters and e-bikes in Maroochydore and Mooloolaba as part of an 18-month trial with Sunshine Coast Council.
Neuron Mobility will deliver 400 e-scooters, with the minimum age of riders being 16, and provide direct business competition to Oggy E-Scooters.
But Kate Ogg of Oggy E-Scooters says the addition of a competitor has given more drive within the business to be a leader in promoting its strict safety policy.
“We are doubling down on our efforts to keep expanding and get more and more parking hubs,” she says.
“If Sunny Coast locals and visitors understand there is a direct choice they can make between supporting an Australian company or paying an international company, [we hope] that they would choose to support local.
“We’ve had that sort of feedback from our riders saying they would only ride with us because they understand what our values are and they align with their values.”
Oggy has provided more than 240,000 rides since launching, with no insurance claims or major accidents reported.
Ms Ogg says the company has a strict minimum age of 21 and a thorough identification process. She says the company had turned away more than 16,500 people who were either too young, aggressive or believed to be under the influence of alcohol.
Oggy E-Scooters opted not to submit an expression of interest to the council during the tender process for the trial, which begins this month.
She says elements of the trial go against the company’s values, including operating at night, and she worries about the higher risk of “visual litter”.
“We don’t think you should be able to end a journey wherever you want,” she says. “Parking hubs are great; there is no visible pollution. No one wants to see scooters littered.”
Ms Ogg says Oggy parking hubs are located at businesses and accommodation providers across the region, helping support the local economy as it directs customers to those locations.
Oggy E-Scooter is now gearing up to launch a subscription model where businesses, especially those with fleet vehicles, can have access scooters.
“If we can actively offset the emissions by replacing a fleet vehicle with a subscription scooter … it’s 80 per cent cheaper than running a fleet vehicle,” Ms Ogg says.
Ms Ogg says the scooter could be used by real estate agents and property managers, solicitors attending court, pharmacies doing local deliveries and car dealerships in lieu of loan cars.
Visit oggyscooters.com.au.
