Dorset councillor says e-bike hire scheme withdrawal 'a mess'
The scheme was paid for with £240,000 from a Community Infrastructure Levy fund and £23,000 from a Transforming Cities fund, plus £224,000 from Beryl Bikes.In November 2024, Beryl Bikes told the council at the three-year break point in the contract it would be pulling out of the area because it was "not viable".
Mr Bryan 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."He 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 area has one of the highest elderly populations in the country, while the bike scheme users are predominantly under 40.Wimborne councillor Shane Bartlett said the Beryl Bikes decision had been "hugely disappointing" and had not helped commuters.
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