Beryl Bikes aim to make 'positive impact' on Norwich

Beryl chief executive Phil Ellis hopes the bikes will have a "positive impact on the environment"

The team behind a dockless bike-share initiative are hoping to make a "positive impact" on a city where a previous scheme failed.

Beryl has been launched in Norwich, offering people the chance to hire one of 225 push bikes - with e-bikes due to be introduced later.

Ofo withdrew from the city within a year after 55 crimes involving the company's bikes were recorded.

The chief executive of Beryl said it was a "more sophisticated operation".

Phil Ellis said there was a local team of bike mechanics and redistribution riders, and they would be making sure the bikes were "well looked after and ready for use".

He said the appeal of Norwich was that "it's got an absolutely brilliant baseline in terms of cycling activity".

More than 200 dockless bikes have been spread across Norwich

Beryl offers customers a choice of "pay-as-you-ride", with a £1 unlocking fee plus 5p per minute, or longer-term packages for those planning to use them regularly.

The firm said there were no parking bays and the bikes were connected to the internet.

Bikes are accessed via a smartphone app but "there is no tracking or tracing of anybody's individual phone", it said.

Mr Ellis said the service was designed to make the city "more liveable, more enjoyable" and would help people make "some sustainable choices".

Phil Ellis, pictured at the front alongside councillors, has already launched the bikes elsewhere in the UK

About 240 e-bikes will be added to the fleet in the summer, he said.

Beryl has teamed up with Transport for Norwich as part of projects funded by the Transforming Cities Fund.

Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council's cabinet member for highways, said the scheme would build on Norwich's reputation as "one of the country's leading cycling cities".

Beryl Bikes, named after cyclist Beryl Burton, have already been launched in places including Bournemouth, Poole and Watford.