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Beryl is offering free 30 minutes rides on selected dates, starting on 16th November, with the support of Herefordshire Council.
The offer coincides with Hereford’s Christmas shopping season and the free rides will be available on Wednesday evenings (4pm to midnight) for late-night shopping plus all day Saturday and Sunday.
The winter promotion has been brought in to encourage local and sustainable shopping in the run-up to Christmas.
Beryl CEO Phillip Ellis said: “Beryl is very proud to be giving back to the community and to thank them for supporting the scheme since it arrived in August by offering free rides during the Christmas period.
“Not only will this provide a green and sustainable mode of transport for local Christmas shopping, but also to help ease traffic congestion in the city during this busy period.”
To redeem the offer riders need to download the Beryl app and unlock a bike. There will be no unlock fee and the first 30 minutes of the ride will be free. Riders can then enjoy a ride around Hereford and park in one of 38 Beryl Bays located throughout the city or in a considerate location. A convenience fee of £2 will apply for out of bay parking.
Beryl’s hybrid dockless bikes have been cycled 45,000 kilometres, three months into the bike share scheme being introduced in Hereford. In partnership with Herefordshire Council and with the support of local logistics firm Pedicargo, Beryl has now grown the scheme to 188 bikes and 38 parking bays.
Beryl bikes are equipped with dynamo-powered lights which come on automatically when riders pedal. Users will also benefit from the green laser projection light which shines into a driver’s blind spot and makes them more visible on the road. Beryl’s patented Laserlight technology can be seen on the streets of London on the Transport for London’s Santander Cycles as well as the New York, Montreal and Glasgow schemes.
Will Vaughan of local operations partner Pedicargo added: “We think it is great that it will be even easier for people to get around by bike over the festive period. With traffic at an all-time high, there is no better way to get to the city centre.”
The free ride dates are as follows:
November:
Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th: All day
Wednesday 20th: 4pm-midnight
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th – All day
Wednesday 27th: 4pm-midnight
Saturday 30th: All day
December:
Sunday 1st: All day
Wednesday 4th: 4pm-midnight
Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th: All day
Wednesday 11th: 4pm-midnight
Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th: All day
Wednesday 18th: 4pm-midnight
Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd – All day
