Beryl Bikes are Go!
On Monday, the Beryl bike share scheme officially launched in Worcester. There was a launch event over on Cathedral Square that a few of our members visited so we wanted to share our impression so far. Before we get started though, Bike Worcester have not been paid to write this blogpost, we just wanted to share this information in case it is useful.
If you’re unfamiliar, Beryl is a service similar to Santander (or Boris) Bikes in London, but with stations across many different towns and cities in the UK. To use it, you download the app and from there you can hire a bike whenever you need one. When it comes to payment, you have a choice between using pay-as-you-go and pay an unlock fee or you can buy a ride pass (which allows you access to bikes subject to some conditions for a set amount of time). When it comes to ending your ride, riders are encouraged to leave their bike in another bay to avoid a £10 fine.
Throughout the day, more and more bikes have been popping up in various bays spread across the city. It is planned that there will be 175 e-bikes and 50 pedal bikes spread across 35 bays around Worcester. There are also plans to bring 18 more bays online over the coming weeks. We’re hoping that this might address some gaps in the map where there currently are no bays. If you want to request a bay in your area, Beryl have a form where you can submit suggestions.
We see this as a positive move to encourage more people to cycle in the city. If you are looking to get into cycling, this brings the barrier to entry to try cycling down quite significantly. It may also encourage more people to drop into town on Sundays when the bus services aren’t running.
If you want to try it out, you can use code HELLOBERYL for 30 minutes free riding.
* Only valid for new users. Valid for 14 days after redemption.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments. :)
