Beryl has launched a fleet of e-bikes in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) to offer residents even more forms of sustainable travel.
The move makes BCP only the second area in the country, after Norwich, to offer three forms of sustainable transport (e-scooters, push bikes and e-bikes) under the same scheme.
An initial fleet of 20 e-bikes is now available with the view to increasing these numbers if the vehicles prove popular.
“BCP Council is a trailblazer for micromobility in the south,” said Councillor Mike Greene, BCP Council’s Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport.
“Beryl bikes and e-scooters are proving to be an incredibly popular and efficient way of getting around locally and I’m delighted that even more people will be able to enjoy travelling sustainably and actively using these brand new e-bikes.”
Some of the benefits of e-bikes include enabling people with disabilities to enjoy cycling, and helping people ride further with less physical exertion.
Beryl’s survey findings from more than 1,000 users in August 2021 showed that, while pedal bikes and e-scooters are more popular (than e-bikes) for leisure riding, e-bikes are preferable for commuting, shopping or running errands.
The same survey also found that people using three modes of micromobility are also more likely to have reduced their usage of cars. Of those respondents who used three forms of micromobility, 5% said they had completely stopped using their car and 30% said they had used their car less often since using Beryl’s vehicles.
In areas where users just rode bikes, no respondents said they had completely stopped using their car and 25% said they had used it less often.
“By boosting people’s options and making our scheme even more accessible, we can hopefully continue to get more people out of the car and onto two wheels,” said Beryl’s CEO and Co-Founder Philip Ellis.
“So with the warm weather, long days and sky-high petrol prices, now is the perfect time to saddle up and give e-bikes a try.”
