Fewer journeys are being made on the city’s hire bikes since the fleet was electrified – and the price hiked.
Brighton and Hove City Council announced today that the new bike scheme, Beryl Bikes, has now passed the milestone of one million journeys, a shade under three years since it launched in 2023.
But the original non-electrified scheme took just two years and nine months to reach the same point in June 2020 – despite having fewer bikes.
Hourbike, which ran the first BTN Bikeshare scheme from September 2017, began with 450 bikes and had expanded to 570 by June 2020. When it launched, it charged 3p a minute or £72 a year.
The scheme ended early in 2022 because the communications technology it used depended on increasingly patchy 3G mobile coverage.
The contract was retendered in 2022 for between £13 and £14 million and awarded to Beryl Bikes. When they launched in March 2023, the charge to ride an electric bike was 15p a minute plus a £1 unlocked fee.
It initially launched with 75 e-bikes, but was set to increase this in phases to 468 e-bikes and 312 push bikes, a total of 780.
Today, it has a total of 750 bikes to hire from more than 100 hubs. Push bikes cost 14p per minute on weekdays and 18p per minute on weekends, and push bikes cost 6p per minute on weekdays and 8p on weekends, all with a £1 unlock fee.
When Beryl reached the million journey milestone, 129,000 people had cycled 2,800,000 km. When Hourbike reached the same point, 120,000 people had cycled 2 million miles – or 3,210,000 km.
This suggests more people are using the electric bikes, but less frequently and/or for shorter journeys.
Most Beryl Bikes are hired along the seafront, with the Palace Pier, Brighton Marina and Madeira Drive hubs the most popular.
Cabinet member for transport Trevor Muten said: “This is an amazing milestone for our Beryl Bikes.
“We’ve seen the popularity of the city’s bike hire scheme grow and grow since we introduced electric bikes three years ago and expanded the scheme across the city
“Beryl Bikes are a great way to travel all year round and have replaced thousands of journeys that would otherwise have been made by car.
“They’ve helped reduce congestion, improve air quality and we know cycling has huge mental and physical health benefits.
“I look forward to seeing millions more journeys across Brighton and Hove.”
Philip Ellis, CEO and co founder of Beryl said: “Hitting the one-millionth ride in Brighton and Hove is a clear indicator of the shifting tides in urban transport.
“This milestone proves that when you provide a reliable, green alternative to the car, people will embrace it wholeheartedly.
“We are incredibly proud to play a role in making Brighton & Hove a cleaner, more connected city, and we look forward to the next million.”
Bhcc, or rather the local taxpayer, subsidising the financially troubled Beryl Bikes.Just signed up for the scooters too! Meanwhile Muten commits to spending £2m on more unwanted cycle lanes
“Beryl Bikes are a great way to travel all year round and have replaced thousands of journeys that would otherwise have been made by car.
I wonder which study he got that info from?
The article states, they are being used for short journey’s, pier, marina etc so more likely would’ve been walked or jumped on the bus than in a car
I use the bikes to go from Hanover to Saltdean regularly, which I would do by car usually. The only problem is it costs £15-20 depending on where it’s parked, if I have bought a time plan etc. The car would cost less than pound. The bikes are just not affordable for many people.