Words / John Challen

It’s unlikely that TV’s Alan Partridge mentioning the pedestrianisation of Norwich city centre led to the city’s increased affection for two-wheeled transport, but there’s always a chance!

Fast forward 23 years from that episode and, in 2020, a scheme was set up by Norfolk County Council and bike-share business Beryl. It was the first micromobility scheme in the country to offer pedal bike, e-bikes and e-scooters through a single operator and has increased bike use in the area, which was already popular. This popularity was largely thanks to the rollout of 58 miles of colour-coded cycle routes – known as Pedalways – which led to an uplift of 40% in people cycling across Norwich city centre.

Phil Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Beryl says that the bike share scheme was designed to build on that success. “By offering people more flexibility and choice around sustainable transport options, the scheme was designed to encourage more people to change their habits, replace car journeys with greener modes of transport and enjoy more of the city by bike,” he says. “This would help reduce traffic congestion while improving air quality and public health.”

Initially, there were 225 pedal bikes introduced in March 2020, with 25 e-bikes added four months later. “As part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) e-scooter trials, an initial fleet of 100 e-scooters was added in September 2020, making Beryl the world’s first provider of a city-wide multimodal smart fleet,” explains Ellis. “Since then, there has been a phased increase, so the scheme now comprises over 300 pedal bikes, 150 e-bikes and 400 e-scooters when running at full capacity.”

In the three years since their introduction, riders have clocked up one million journeys totalling over three million kilometres – or nearly 75 trips around the Earth. On average (based on industry calculations) the amounts of CO2 emissions prevented by mode in tonnes are: 44.95 (bike); 22.97 (e-bike) and 91.49 (e-scooter).

Analysis of the usage figures makes for interesting reading for engineers and transport planners looking to introduce similar systems. “One of the standout findings from the Norwich data is a big increase in riders connecting their Beryl trips with public transport, with 52% this year compared to just 26% in 2021,” reports Ellis. Continuing, he says that riders have also embraced the variety of transport modes on offer. Compared with 2021, they are much more likely to try multiple modes. “The number of people riding bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters has almost doubled from 26% to 50%, while the number of riders just using bikes has fallen dramatically from 25% to just 7%.”

Success in Norwich has led to an expansion of the scheme within the area. “In early 2022, the council’s bid for DfT funding was successful, allowing the scheme to be extended to areas beyond the Norwich boundary including Wymondham, Hethersett and Drayton,” reveals Ellis. “New bays were opened in Wymondham in July last year and have already seen over 1,000 journeys made to and from them in the first six months.

“The council is keen to expand the scheme further and is also exploring the possibility of adding e-cargo bikes as another option,” he adds.”  Beyond Norfolk, Beryl has opened sites in Brighton, Cornwall and Plymouth and further expansions are planned for 2023 as well as all-new schemes in the West Midlands and Leeds.

 Meanwhile, a tie-up with National Grid means Beryl’s reach can go even further, says Ellis. “National Grid is sponsoring Beryl’s Norwich electric fleet, allowing us to run more projects with businesses, charities and community groups that make sustainable travel even more accessible,” he explains. “The partnership is a fantastic opportunity for us to partner with a globally recognised organisation that shares our outlook and values around the decarbonisation of transport.”

Next steps

Find out more about decarbonisation within the sector with the Decarbonisation Pathway - Exclusive to CIHT members.