A new Southeast Dorset bike share scheme, embracing Wimborne, Colehill, West Parley, West Moors and Ferndown will link up with the existing Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) scheme, removing the barriers to sustainable transport for even more people.

It is being funded through southeast Dorset’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF)1 programme, aimed at reducing congestion, protecting the natural environment and encouraging healthy, active travel across the region.

The new scheme launches just ahead of national Cycle to Work Day on Thursday 4 August. The event aims to encourage workers all around the country to get on their bikes and get into work on two wheels. It’s an event for everyone, from people who haven’t hopped on a bike since their school days to committed cycle commuters.

By providing 122 bikes and more than 50 bays across the area, it is hoped that the Southeast Dorset Beryl Bikes scheme will inspire even more people to take up sustainable travel, helping to improve air quality and public health. It is hoped that the scheme and infrastructure improvements will reduce road congestion and open up new opportunities for residents to commute to different local workplaces without needing to use a car.

The scheme will boost sustainable transport links in the area, allowing more people to make the following cycle journeys:

• From Wimborne – Ferndown (20 mins) Parley Cross (30 mins) Colehill (5 mins) West Moors (25 mins) Bournemouth (50 mins), Christchurch (58 mins), Poole (36 mins)
• From Ferndown – Moors Valley Country Park (25 mins) Verwood (30 mins) Colehill (15 mins) West Moors (8 mins) Parley Cross (12 mins) Bournemouth (42 mins), Christchurch (43 mins), Poole (53 mins) 

Beryl CEO Phil Ellis said: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to launch the scheme in Southeast Dorset and, in doing so, enable more people to take advantage of the excellent local cycling infrastructure. 

“As with all of our schemes, this scheme has been designed to provide the best possible service for users by being delivered both in partnership with the local authority and in consultation with communities and key stakeholders.

“The launch of the new bikes coincides with national Cycle To Work Day, so with the weather warm and the days still long, it is an excellent time for people to give bike share a try.”

Cllr Simon Gibson, Dorset Council’s Lead Member for Highways, said: “Active travel is a core part of our Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy, and will help us reduce Dorset’s carbon emissions to net zero. This means we need to make cycling easy and accessible for as many of our residents as possible.

Setting up the Beryl Bike scheme in Dorset is an exciting opportunity not only to help protect the natural environment, but help people get active and even save money at a time when fuel is so expensive. And with local cycling infrastructure currently being developed through our Transforming Travel programme with BCP Council, there has never been a better time to hop on a bike in East Dorset.”

Launched in April 2019, the BCP bike share scheme currently has 900 bikes and 250 e-scooters. The Dorset scheme will increase the total number of available bikes in the region to more than 1000. As of 1 August 2022, riders have made over 1,099,500 journeys over a distance of more than 4,147,780 km since the launch. 

Feedback from users* shows that over a quarter (26.3%) of  journeys in the BCP Council region have replaced road transport journeys and its expected the Dorset scheme will achieve the same - including driving a car/van, being a passenger in a car/van, using a taxi or riding a motorbike or moped. 

This equates to over 607 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions saved:  the equivalent of around 40 million kettles boiled or more than 3551 flights from London to Edinburgh.**

Riders can hire a Beryl Bike through the Beryl app, available for download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android users. The bikes can be picked up and dropped off in marked ‘Beryl Bays’.

Riders have a payment choice of Pay-As-You-Ride (£1 unlock fee + 5p per minute), Minute Bundles (no unlock fee and bundles starting at 100 minutes for £5) or Day Passes (24 hours of unlimited riding for £12). Once their ride is complete, users simply close the lock on the bike to complete their ride and make it available for the next person to use. 

For more information on the Beryl Bikes scheme, visit https://beryl.cc/bikeshare/riders 

For more information on Cycle to Work Day, visit https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/cycletoworkday

*Based on 34,569 user responses received since 10 March 2021 

**Carbon saving calculations are approximate and are based on industry research