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Beryl and Norfolk County Council are celebrating one year of healthier and greener transport in Norwich since the launch of its bike share scheme.
The scheme was launched on 17th March 2020 and now also includes e-bikes and e-scooters. Over 370,000 kilometres have been covered within the city across 97,000 journeys.
These trips taken by Beryl bikes and e-scooters within the one year anniversary is equivalent to over 61,000 kilograms of CO2 saved.
“Cycling has experienced an exponential boom across the world in the last year, and it’s fantastic to see Norwich’s enthusiasm for going by bike climb rapidly since our launch in the city,” said Beryl CEO Phillip Ellis. “The multi-modal approach we have brought to our scheme in the city appears to have helped drive down car usage with a recent user survey showing 20% of respondents acknowledged they use their private cars less often.
“If we want to live in a world with less polluted air, healthier people and happier streets; one of the best ways of doing that is to change our transport habits for as many journeys as possible. Over 58% of residents live just five minutes away from a Beryl Bay enabling them to take a bike or e-scooter for a full journey or as a last-mile journey option in conjunction with public transport.
“As lockdown measures continue to lift in the coming months, I look forward to seeing Beryl playing a vital role in Norwich’s green recovery.”
Councillor Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council’s cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: “I am delighted to see the impact the arrival of Beryl in Norwich is having on both people’s travel habits and the environment. These changes are key drivers of our Transforming Cities programme which funded the scheme’s introduction and we look forward to working with Beryl to further expand the service in the coming year.”
Councillor Andrew Jamieson, Norfolk County Council’s walking and cycling champion, added: “Encouraging more people to walk or cycle supports our goals as a council to reduce carbon emissions and improve the health of our residents and we will continue to promote greener travel options across the whole county.”
To hire a Beryl Bike, users can download the Beryl app for free from the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android. Bikes can be picked up and dropped off in marked ‘Beryl Bays’ which are visible both in app and on the street.
Read the March issue of BikeBiz below:
