Auckland e-scooters: Beam, Neuron, Flamingo and Jump, which is the best?

With Uber's Jump e-scooters hitting the streets on Tuesday, Aucklanders now have four brands of shared e-scooters to choose from – but which ones are the best? Reporter Brittany Keogh puts them to the test.

OPINION: Shared e-scooters have taken over Auckland's footpaths again after a brief exodus of all but one brand during the holiday period.

Four brands – Beam, Neuron, Flamingo and Jump – are now competing for residents' rides (and dollars).

But not all are e-scooters are made equal. Stuff compared the different brands across five categories – ease of unlocking and locking, speed, handling, price and safety. 

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* Lime and Wave e-scooters to be withdrawn from Auckland

Here's how they stacked up:

Locking/unlocking

Flamingo: 5/5 – Unlocking a Flamingo takes just a few taps. Open the app, scan the QR code with the camera, then click the pink "ride" button and you're away. Locking takes a bit longer as you have to take a photo of the scooter parked before you can end the ride. This is to ensure that it isn't left in the middle of the footpath where it could be a hazard.

Neuron: 5/5 – Unlocking Neuron's e-scooters is similarly simple. However, after scanning the QR code a few safety messages pop up and you have to swipe through these before you can start riding. A voice recording will also remind you to wear your helmet (which should be slung over the handlebars). Like Flamingo, riders must snap a pic of their scooter parked before you can finish their ride. You can also reserve a nearby scooter for 15 minutes, so the one you're planning to use won't get swiped as you're walking to it.

Beam: 4.5/5 – Unlocking and locking Beam is much the same as the others, however, you have to turn on Bluetooth before scanning the QR code. Half a point is deducted for this because having an extra step is just annoying.

Jump: 4.5/5 – If you're already an Uber rider, you'll be pleased to know you don't have to download an extra app to use the ride-sharing service's Jump e-scooters. Just tap the scooter icon in the Uber app and search for the nearest scooter. Jump also enables you to reserve scooters. But they lose a point because the app lagged after scanning the QR code for about five seconds.

Speed

Flamingo: 5/5 – While all e-scooters are restricted to 15kmh in the city centre and along Ponsonby Road (the two locations where we tested them), Flamingo can go up to 25kmh when being used in the suburbs. That's pretty quick for such a small scooter.

Neuron: 5/5 – Neuron has the same top speed of 25kmh. 

Beam: 5/5 – Beam is the quickest scooter off the mark, the acceleration kicks in as soon as you tap the "go" button.

Jump: 4/5 – Reaching a top speed of 21kmh, Jump is the slowest of the bunch. It's also noticeably slower when travelling up hills. But on the flat it's still a lot faster than walking.

Handling

Flamingo: 3/5 – Flamingo's scooters are definitely the least sturdy. When you pick up speed they start to wobble which is a bit off putting as a rider. They're also more difficult to steer than some of the other brands. 

Neuron: 4/5 – Neuron's N3 scooters have a wide footplate, making them easy to balance on. They accelerate relatively smoothly but because they appear to have a bit more grunt, can become slightly unsteady when you pump the brake suddenly. Because they're heavier, they can also be difficult to turn when you're going slow.

Beam: 4/5 – Beam's e-scooters are sturdy, with large wheels and a heavy frame similar to Jump and Neuron's scooters. However, their zippiness is a minus when it comes to handling. They're so quick it can cause them to wobble a bit as you're accelerating.

Jump: 5/5 – As a beginner rider, Jump is the easiest and most comfortable scooter to use. The braking and acceleration are smooth and they're easy to manouevre around corners. They also have a lower centre of gravity than some models so you feel really stable riding them. 

Price

Flamingo: 3/5 – Flamingos are priced at $1 to unlock and $0.38 per minute. Compared to Onzo e-bikes, which cost $1 per hour, e-scooters are more pricey, but Flamingos cost the same to ride as thier predecessors, Wave and Lime.

Neuron: 3/5 – Neuron is charging the exact same rate (a $1 unlocking fee, then $0.38 per minute to ride). While it seems you get more bang for your buck with Neuron than, as you're paying to rent a helmet as well as a scooter, they're not cheap.

Beam: 2/5 – The standard unlocking fee is slightly cheaper than the other brands at $0.45. But they're the most expensive to ride at $0.45 per minute. While the $0.07 difference may seem small, if you're going on a longer ride – say 20 minutes – it adds up quickly. However, during January, Beams are free to unlock.

Jump: 3/5 Like Flamingo and Neuron, Jump is charging $1 to unlock its e-scooters and $0.38 per minute to use them. Being the last shared e-scooter brand to launch in Auckland, Jump could have given itself an edge by offering a more competitive rate.

Safety

Flamingo: 2/5 – Given the concerns around e-scooter safety – and the fact the current e-scooters on the market are supposedly safer than previous versions – Flamingos disappoint in this area. There is little safety messaging on the scooters or in the app. They don't come with helmets and the brakes seem to take longer to stop than other brands. The wheels are also substantially smaller than the other brands'. The brake is in the form of a button rather than a lever, like the one on a bike, so is less intuitive for people who grew up with push bikes. Because of the brake placement, you may be tempted (like I was) to try to stop by placing your foot on the ground while riding – this could obviously lead to injury if you're travelling at up to 25kmh.

Neuron: 5/5 – All Neuron scooters come with helmets – unless they've been nicked by another rider, which you can quickly report via the app. Neuron's N3 generation scooters, which are the kind we have in Auckland, have two brakes, one electric and the other like a drum brake. The brake will automatically kick in if you start to lose control going down a hill. The scooters brake from the rear wheel, making them less likely to send you flying over the handle bars if you stop suddenly.

Beam: 3/5 – Although every Beam is meant to come with a helmet, the one I tested didn't. The front-wheel braking is another potential hazard as it could (and nearly did in my case) hurtle you over the handlebars if you crash.

Jump: 4.5/5 – Like Neuron, Jump has multiple brakes, two lever brakes, one on each side of the handlebars, and another that turns on automatically when you're going too fast (for example speeding down a hill.) They're also durable and Jump is giving away free helmets to riders who come to their activations. However, because they still require you to bring your own helmet, they lose half a point.

Overall impression

Flamingo: 3.5/5 – If you want to get from A to B quickly and with relative ease, Flamingo e-scooters are for you.

Neuron: 4.5/5 – Neuron is the standout model overall, it's fast, easy to use and the company takes safety seriously.

Beam: 4/5 – For those of us with a need for speed (and grunt), Beam is the superior scooter. Be careful on this one though.

Jump: 4.25/5 – Jump is a good all rounder – but it's slower top speed means it wouldn't be the scooter to choose if you're trying to get to a meeting you're running late for.