From tomorrow (Tuesday 21 March), 125 e-bikes are available for the public to use from 28 Beryl bays as part of the first phase of the scheme. A special launch event will take place at the Piazza in front of the Sundial to showcase the bikes as part of Connect Plymouth - a new sustainable transport initiative which aims to offer greener ways to travel around the city.

Further e-bikes and bays will be added in phases throughout 2023 and, when fully operational, Plymouth will have a 500-strong fleet of e-bikes for hire from over 90 bays at key locations.  

Beryl Scheme Lead for Plymouth, Kate Palmer, said: “We’re extremely delighted to be launching our scheme in Plymouth, a city with a clear and exciting vision to promote sustainable travel. 

“Our e-bikes are a really fun and versatile way to travel and their extra power can really open up areas, enabling riders to tackle hills and undertake longer journeys. 

“They’re also great for commuting, allowing people to arrive at work clean and ready to go, and for carrying heavier loads such as shopping.

“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 congestion and harmful carbon emissions, so why not give it a try.”

Beryl e-bikes can easily be hired via the Beryl app, which is available for free download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android users.

Users can pay for their journeys in different 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 and starting at £7.50 for 50 minutes

Connect Plymouth is the new name for the network of facilities – which were formerly called mobility hubs. There will be an additional 300 parking bays

across the city with electric vehicle charge points provided by Wenea. The Council has awarded a contract to Co Cars to run a fleet of electric car club vehicles within Plymouth.

It is part of the Department of Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund, which aims to change people’s travel habits by making it as easy as possible for people to choose low carbon options to get about.

In March 2020 the Council received £51.2m capital funding from the Transforming Cities Fund. This builds upon the £7.6m previously awarded in 2019.

For more information, visit beryl.cc/plymouth