Efforts to give residents more choice on how they travel will see 250 e-bikes brought to Cornwall over the next few months as part of a cycle share scheme.
The first Beryl Bikes will arrive in Falmouth and Penryn next week, with 50 bikes and 20 docking bays where they can be hired and returned.
Operated on behalf of Cornwall Council by Beryl – the UK’s leading micromobility provider – the e-bike scheme will expand to Newquay, Penzance, St Austell and Truro over the coming months.
Bikes can be hired through the Beryl app.
Philip Desmonde, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said:
“I am delighted that we will be able to bring this scheme to residents in these five areas. I hope it will encourage more people to leave the car at home and use pedal power - with a little assistance!
This supports our ambitions to give residents choices about how they travel short distances – in Falmouth alone almost half of all car journeys to work are of less than 5km. Taking these journeys by e-bike can help make a difference not just to our environment, but our health too. This can be a fun way to travel, avoiding traffic congestion and the stress of finding somewhere to park. In most cases it’s also cheaper than driving short distances.
I do hope that when you have made your first use of this alternative way of travelling within your local area, you will become an avid fan – please try and enjoy!”
Beryl CEO and co-founder, Phil Ellis, said:
“Cornwall is undoubtedly a fantastic place for people to take advantage of our e-bikes so I’m delighted that we’re up and running. E-bikes are a really fun and versatile way to travel and their extra power can really open up areas, enabling riders to tackle hills and undertake longer journeys.
They’re also great for commuting, helping to reduce physical exertion and allowing people to arrive at work clean and ready to go.
By swapping the car for an e-bike journey you’re not only boosting your own health and fitness, you’re also helping to reduce congestion and harmful carbon emissions, so why not give it a try.”
The e-bike share scheme has been funded by the Council’s Carbon Neutral Cornwall fund and the Department for Transport.
Martyn Alvey, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:
“Road transport emissions represent around a quarter of all of Cornwall’s emissions and green travel initiatives such as this are key to us helping Cornwall become carbon neutral. Using an e-bike for short journeys also saves on travel costs as well as getting us more active which is so important for our health and fitness.”
Users can pay for their journeys in a variety of ways to suit individual needs and circumstances.
- Pay As You Ride is best for single journeys or occasional rides and will cost users £1.50 unlocking fee and 10p per minute
- Minute Bundles enable regular users to buy upfront and save money, starting at 80 minutes for £5
- Day Passes are suitable for people on long days out and offer people unlimited riding over a 24-hour-period for £20
The Beryl app is available for free download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android users.
Visit the Beryl website for more information