More residents have been travelling by pedal power according to the latest statistics from Cornwall’s e-bike share scheme.
Over 8,000 journeys were made in April, the first full month Beryl e-bikes have been available in Newquay, Truro and St Austell.
The bikes have proved particularly popular in Newquay, with almost 4,000 journeys made last month. And with more than 500 of those journeys starting at Newquay Railway Station, the bay ranks in Beryl’s top ten most popular.
Jenny Hindson, from Newquay Orchard, said;
“We are delighted to have a Beryl bike bay right next to our community building. So many visitors and staff have been using the bikes already to get to work, to visit our cafe and to attend our events and theatre performances. This is a great partnership for us as we promote sustainable and active transport choices. It is a really easy way to make a good choice for the environment and bring our community together!”
In all, there are now 250 e-bikes across Falmouth and Penryn, Newquay, Penzance, St Austell and Truro with 20 ‘Beryl bays’ in each location.
Connor Donnithorne, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for transport, said:
“We want to support residents to make more sustainable and healthy choices about how they travel.
“These figures from the first full month are really encouraging and show that people will make changes to travel habits if the infrastructure is there.”
Kate Palmer, Beryl’s scheme lead for Cornwall and Plymouth, said:
“I’m delighted that our scheme is now up and running across the five locations and has already proven to be very popular.
“With the warmer weather and longer days upon us, now is the perfect time to give one of our e-bikes a try. The extra power that they provide can make the occasionally hilly terrain more accessible to some riders and allow them to undertake longer journeys.
“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 traffic congestion and harmful carbon emissions.”
Beryl will also be running a series of events across the towns, offering people the chance to try out the e-bikes, ask questions, get help and even win discounts and merchandise.
Each event will run from 10am to 3pm:
- Tuesday 16 May - Penzance - Jubilee Pool bay
- Wednesday 17 May - Falmouth - Moor Piazza
- Thursday 18 May - Truro - Lemon Quay
- Friday 19 May - St Austell - White River Place
- Saturday 20 May - Newquay - Killacourt
Find out more about hiring an e-bike in Cornwall
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 unlocking fee and 15p per minute. Minute Bundles enable regular users to buy upfront and save money with no unlock fee.
The Beryl app is available for free download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android users.