The Scoot Happy Tour will run throughout 2022 and will offer Beryl customers a variety of ways and incentives to boost their knowledge and abilities when using Beryl’s three e-scooter schemes. 

Firstly, Beryl and Norfolk County Council have launched the Scoot Happy website, which includes a quick start guide as well as a 15-minute course designed to teach users how to ride beryl e-scooters safely. 

Funded by the MOBI-MIX project, the convenient online course focuses on users’ roadcraft skills and their ability and awareness when sharing road space with others, including pedestrians and vulnerable road users. Participants can even claim free minutes on completion of the guide (30 minutes) and the course (60 minutes). 

From 1 April, people can also sign up for in-person sessions, held at set locations across the Norwich, Bournemouth, Poole and Isle of Wight areas. Sessions will take the form of either Skills Sessions - a two-hour course run by Bikeability instructors - or Tryouts - a one hour session with Beryl staff split into theory and practical lessons. 

Details and locations, as well as instructions on how to sign up to the events, which will be held on weekends, can be found on Eventbrite. 

As part of the tour, Beryl are partnering with UK urban cycle helmet manufacturers Dashel, who are offering all skill session participants 30% off their Re-Cycle helmets. Tryout participants can also claim 10% off the same range.

Beryl CEO, Phil Ellis, said: “We believe that safety is paramount, and we put it at the forefront of everything that we do, whether that’s designing schemes, working with local authorities, developing products or helping our users. 

“Our Scoot Happy Tour offers a variety of fun and engaging ways for people to boost their safety skills, whether that’s a quick online refresher or a more in-depth personal session with an expert tutor. 

“We know that fears over safety can inhibit people from taking up micromobility schemes, so by helping to boost confidence and awareness, we can hopefully help remove some of the barriers.

“By doing this and inspiring more people to take up sustainable travel options, we can help reduce road congestion and improve air quality and public health.”

A spokesperson for Dashel said: “The Beryl Pixel light has always sold brilliantly as a clip-on addition to Dashel helmets. We are delighted to be working with them in a partnership that encourages more people to scoot safely.” 

Beryl currently operates Department for Transport approved e-scooter schemes in Bournemouth and Poole, Norwich and the Isle of Wight. Since the first scheme was launched in Norwich in September 2020, users have clocked up over 579,000 journeys over 2,008,867 km across the three schemes. 

During the trial periods, e-scooter riders are required to provide a valid UK Driving Licence to participate. They are also asked to provide feedback on their experiences using the vehicles to support data learnings on operating the service. 

Beryl e-scooters can be used on roads, cycle lanes, carriageways and other areas where cycling is permitted but not on pavements. Every Beryl e-scooter is DfT approved, ensuring it meets the highest safety standards. Beryl has and will continue to consult with key organisations as the trial progresses. 

To begin a trip with a Beryl e-scooter, users just need to follow the simple in-app directions to unlock the vehicle for use. At the end of their ride, users must lock the scooter via the app and will hear a chime from the scooter to register that it is locked. Beryl e-scooters available to hire are visible both on-street and in the app, with Beryl Bays and operating zones also shown in the app.  

Beryl e-scooters are available to hire through two payment choices of Pay-As-You-Ride (£1.50 unlock fee + 10p per minute) or Minute Bundles (£1.50 unlock fee and bundles priced at 5p per minute; 100 minutes for £5, 200 minutes for £10, 300 minutes for £15). Users who park a hired e-scooter outside of a Beryl Bay will be charged a £5 convenience fee, while users who lock a Beryl e-scooter outside the operating zone will be charged £10. This fee covers operational costs associated with returning vehicles to a bay for another user to ride.