Bike Hire In Brighton Sees Return of Pedal Cycles

The number of Beryl BTN Bikes available for hire around Brighton & Hove is being increased at the same time as some new, cheaper pricing options are being introduced.

According to Brighton and Hove City Council staff, new bikes (in Brighton & Hove colours) will arrive on Friday 18 August, beginning with the rollout of 100 new e-bikes and 50 pedal bikes.

These will be added to the current 125 e-bikes; and more are expected in the coming weeks.

Local authority staff reported that they'll also restore to use more hubs around the city, expanding the current hire zone.

For the first time since the scheme was relaunched, pedal bikes will be added to the fleet at a further reduced cost in one of the new Riding Passes.

A typical 23 minute journey by pedal bike only using the new 30 day pass offer would cost less than £1.

By autumn, the scheme should include 780 bikes, including 468 e-bikes and 312 pedal bikes, the council announced.

This should mean users will be able to ride and park the bikes in more parts of the city.  

Pricing

Along with more bikes and hubs, the current temporary pricing will change and a range of permanent pricing options are anticipated.

Users will be able to purchase two day, seven day and 30 day Riding Passes which offer discounted hire rates. 

• £12 for 100 minutes (two day pass) = 12p per minute, plus £1 unlock fee for e-bikes, no fee for pedal bikes 
• £24 for 300 minutes (seven day pass) = 8p per minute, plus £1 unlock fee for e-bikes, no fee for pedal bikes
• £32 for 800 minutes (30 day pass) = 4p per minute, plus £1 unlock fee for e-bikes, no fee for pedal bikes

Each of these passes has a 30 minute journey cap at which point charges move to the ‘pay as you ride’ tariff.  The pay as you ride tariff will also be available for anyone who doesn’t want to purchase one of these passes. 

• Pedal bikes – 8p per minute plus £1 unlock     
• E-bikes – 16p per minute plus £1 unlock

Full pricing details will be made available on the Beryl app.  

Further passes and discount options, including annual and corporate memberships as well as discounts for eligible groups, will be announced later in the summer.

These memberships and discounts, including corporate memberships, will be available to purchase by the end of September. 

The scheme will also boast three electric vehicles which will help with redistribution and servicing of bikes, and two electric cargo bikes (eCargo) used for swapping the bikes’ batteries.

Since the relaunch of the scheme at the start of April, the local authority said, Beryl BTN Bikes have been used for almost 44,000 journeys spanning more than 166,000 kilometres across the city.

Councillor Trevor Muten, Chair of the Transport and Sustainability committee said:

"It’s great to hear that we’ll soon be seeing more Beryl bikes on the streets of Brighton & Hove and that users will be offered cheaper pricing options. 

"We have heard what people have said about pricing and so I’m really pleased to see that the new Riding Passes will bring down the cost to users.

"This is really important if we want more people to cycle around our great city.

"The new scheme has been very popular since the relaunch.

"More bikes and a bigger hire zone mean they’ll be accessible to thousands more residents and visitors.

"Beryl BTN Bikes are an easy and affordable way to get around the city.

"The new e-bikes have made even some of the hilliest areas so much easier to access and for those that still want the full pedal bike experience, that’s now an option too."

Beryl CEO and co-founder, Phil Ellis, added:

"We’ve been delighted with the initial reaction to the scheme and would like to thank everyone who has tried the bikes so far and provided us with valuable feedback. 

"It’s really exciting that we can now focus on expanding and making our bikes more convenient and accessible to even more people, opening them up to a wider range of uses such as shopping or commuting. 

"To coincide with expansion, we’re also offering a brand new range of pricing options that will enable people to ride as cheaply as 4p per minute. 

"With bike share also removing the additional costs of fuel, insurance, tax, MOT, maintenance and storage associated with private vehicle ownership, it really is a cost effective way to get around the city."

The Brighton & Hove cycle map and new zone can be found here:
http://www.brightonandhovecyclemap.co.uk/?map=bikeshare