Ferndown, Wimborne | Posted on January 24th, 2025 | return to news
Hire bikes scheme to quit East Dorset
Beryl bikes and bays will be removed from the Wimborne, Colehill, West Parley, West Moors and Ferndown areas by Friday 28 February.

Love them or loathe them, the teal-coloured hire bikes and electric scooters provided by Beryl are to be removed from parts of East Dorset.
The bike share company has announced that a contract to provide 122 bikes in partnership with Dorset Council has come to an end, and so the bikes and bays will be removed from the Wimborne, Colehill, West Parley, West Moors and Ferndown areas by Friday 28 February.
Bikes will remain in the Corfe Mullen and Upton areas, where they will connect to the network of over 1,000 bikes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Beryl will also continue to operate the successful 121 e-bike hire scheme in Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland.
Since launching in the East Dorset region in August 2022, the bikes have been used nearly 30,000 times across more then 122,000km. The company claims this saved around four tonnes of carbon emissions.
While 30,000 in 2.5 years sounds impressive, it is worth comparing it to the Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland, where bikes have been used 15,000 times in just six months from August 2024. This indicates that uptake in Wimborne, Colehill, West Parley, West Moors and Ferndown was perhaps less than the company or council would have liked.
A possible reason for the lacklustre uptake is a lack of cycling infrastructure in the region, such as cycle lanes.
Beryl CEO and co-founder, Phil Ellis, said: “We’re constantly reviewing and assessing our schemes alongside our local authority partners, to ensure they continue to be delivered as safely and effectively as possible.
“We know, from our latest annual Rider Report, that a lack of good cycling infrastructure can be a significant barrier to people looking to take their first ride (25 per cent of those asked).
“This is reflected in the ridership patterns for Wimborne and Ferndown, which really demonstrate the benefits of providing safe and reliable cycling infrastructure.
“We will now focus on ensuring our e-bike share scheme in Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland builds on its initial success and continues to encourage people across the region to swap four wheels for two.”
Please share post:
LATEST NEWS:
CHARITY OF THE YEAR 2025

Subscribe to the online magazine news letter