Beryl Bikes pull-out branded “a mess” as Dorset Council faces backlash over failed scheme
Beryl has pulled its e-bikes from Wimborne, Parley and Ferndown due to ‘low usage’ and the scheme not being ‘viable’
Dorset Council is under fire following the “embarrassing” withdrawal of Beryl Bikes from across East Dorset.
Councillor Ray Bryan, the man who once championed the scheme, says it was “bad publicity” to see the bike hire scheme come to an end just weeks after the council had finished spending millions of pounds on new cycleways in the area.
He said: “I can’t tell you how damaging this has been in the east Dorset area – people can’t understand why this council has spent millions on providing cycleways and within weeks of us having finished the cycleways Beryl withdrew the service.”
The scheme, launched in August 2022 with 122 bikes and 47 bays across Wimborne, Ferndown, Colehill, West Moors and West Parley, will be officially terminated in January 2025, just three years after its contract was signed.
Beryl informed the council in November 2024 that the scheme was “not viable” due to “low usage rates”.
It comes as East Dorset has one of the highest elderly populations in the country, while Beryl Bikes are mostly used by under 40s.
Cllr Bryan said Dorset Council was wrong to rely on information from Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) about the viability of the scheme and should have carried out its own checks.
Councillors were told that, while the company looked at population figures, the age profile of the area appeared not to have been investigated.
The scheme was funded through £240,000 from a Community Infrastructure Levy, £23,000 from a Transforming Cities fund, and £224,000 from Beryl. Dorset Council received just a 5% profit share, with revenue figures not made public.
During negotiations not to pull Beryl Bikes from the area, the company asked for a £14,000 monthly subsidy - an amount Dorset Council deemed unjustifiable
Cllr Bryan said: “Can you imagine how this appears to residents? They look at it and say: ‘was this a waste of money, how did we get into this place?’ We need to learn some lessons and discuss how we’ll never get into this position again.”