Over 66,000 journeys have been completed on Beryl’s e-scooters across the Isle of Wight since the launch of the transport trial last year, it has been revealed.
It has been a whole year since Beryl arrived on the Island; first launching in Newport before expanding to Cowes, East Cowes, Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin. The electric scooters are part of a trial to help shape future laws around the method of transport.
In the past 12 months, a total of 66,920 journeys have been completed over 32,121 hours – that’s the same distance as 2,092 trips around the Island and the same time as 87,602 ferry trips between Ryde and Portsmouth! The total distance is a staggering 146,458 miles.
All of this is helping reduce carbon emissions and air pollution on the Island. It’s estimated that Isle of Wight riders have saved over 10.6 tonnes of CO2 in the last year, the equivalent of 62 flights from London to Edinburgh or 707,106 kettles boiled.
It was recently announced that Beryl is to launch an e-bike scheme on the Island too, as reported by Island Echo.
And certainly in the Ryde Esplanade are the majority of these wonderful journeys have been made on the pavements, carrying passengers or riding the wrong way down a dual carriageway.
beryl don’t care as long as the money keeps rolling in and now we will have their e bikes joining all the other pavement cyclists.
Used by many a drugs ‘mule’ in Ryde, no doubt.
Foolish if they do as they will be tracked.
I wonder how many of those were by under age riders/no licence? It’s an eco mode of transport for sure but the regulations are draconian IMO. They only need one rule- helmets.
How many were freebies for NHS staff etc? I nearly wiped out a young Beryl rider when he swerved off the pavement into the carriageway in front of me in Northwood last summer.
You need to have your license verified through the app prior to being able to ride. The real problem I think is the claimed Co2 reduction, that assumes this is replacing car journeys when it is more than likely replacing walking journeys and thereby increasing Co2 emissions from generating the electricity.
How right you are about the CO2 stats, they are not replacing car journeys.
Your comment about Licence verification is theoretical, I see many underage riders and the Council do not enforce the rules, Beryl do to give a damn and the Police can only intervene if they if people report violations and they are not tied up elsewhere, BERYL NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILTY and police this, they are the ones taking the profit.
If someone is injured I hope they sue BERYL.
No it will be the unfortunate motorist who will be forced to carry the can.
No, the only person you can sue will be the licence holder that logged on…
What’s happening ( I suspect) is that a valid licence holder is registering, then logging in and allowing a mate/sibling/child to get a ride…
Verification may be required – absolutely no good whatsoever if parents just hire them for their kids!
The scooters are clearly aimed at kids which is why so many of the parking areas for them are close to schools to entice the school kids. I gather it’s not to difficult to circumvent the checks when you can just ‘borrow’ your mum or dad’s licence.
Beryl, and for that matter the Isle of Wight Council, need to take full responsibility/ownership of incidents involving these scooters. I have seriously given up counting the number that are ridden around on pavements, the wrong side of the road, the wrong way along one-way roads, and those with more than one person on at a time.
It will obviously be any poor motorists fault WHEN there is a ‘accident’, despite, not long ago there being a report in this paper of a ‘near miss’ at a junction in Seaview/Nettlestone.
There need to be PROPER controls and checks before they are used. I.E. manned distribution points!
I fully support everything so you say. i also think BERYL ought to be forced to sign up to a new contract with the Council which requires them to require hirer to upload a photograph of themselves in real time with the scooter, in addition to the licence upload.A picture is very good evidence of identity.
That person pictured can then be held responsible.
This along with the misuse of privately owned e-scooters is becoming major problem for motorists and pedestrians alike and the Council and Police ned to get a grip of this problem.
Hasn’t saved any co2. Mostly used by youngsters too lazy to walk. Get real.
What rubbish, has not reduced co2 , actually increased in manufacturing of such scooters and shipping here from China, electric for charging and service vehicle. Most user’s are under age and don’t drive ,the adults also don’t drive a car they are mostly bus passengers – the buses still run without them – when they have an accident which blocks road causes other vehicles divert using extra fuel etc.
Just wait and see the number of uses fall due to poor weather coming along.
These maybe fine during fine weather, but who wants to use one when its freezing, raining and its quicker and cheaper by bus.
Too be honest I thought they were designed for getting from A to B
All I have seen is people joy riding on them with no Safety Helmets on.
Too be honest they are a nuisance
Ban them. Far too many incidents, with reckless, uncontrolled use.
Worse decision ever. More of a menace than anything else.
Far to many carrying passengers and riding like twats,there should be cameras fitted to them
“All of this is helping reduce carbon emissions and air pollution on the Island. It’s estimated that Isle of Wight riders have saved over 10.6 tonnes of CO2 in the last year, the equivalent of 62 flights from London to Edinburgh or 707,106 kettles boiled.”
What absolute tosh!! I’ve yet to see one being ridden by an adult on a seemingly sensible journey. As others have commented on here, it is all young kids clearly on them as an adult has logged a licence on the app. Clearly no checks are done in this regard. I regularly see kids on them, often two at a time on one scooter, hooting and hollering and swerving about dangerously.