Beryl shared use bikes available to hire

A photo of a Beryl bike by breeze This brand new bike share scheme gives thousands of people the chance to enjoy two-wheeled travel.

The scheme, called ‘Beryl Bikes by Breeze’, allows you to hire pedal bike for local journeys or an e-bike for a longer journey, without the need to own and store a bike yourself across Portsmouth, Southampton and on the Isle of Wight.

This means you have another greener way to travel across the city, so you’re helping to tackle the climate emergency, while improving your health and reducing the number of cars on the road. By the end of summer 2023, there will be 360 bikes spread across 90 bays within Portsmouth.

To get started, download the free Breeze app on Google Play (Android) or the App Store (iPhone). You’ll also be able to rent Voi rental e-scooters on the app, as well as organise your travel on a variety of public transport. For more information read the Frequently asked questions below or visit the Beryl website.

Top tips for a safe ride

Map of Beryl Bikes by Breeze bays

You can see a map here of all locations where you can rent a Beryl e-bicycle or pedal bicycle:

To get started, download the free Breeze app on Google Play (Android) or the App Store (iPhone). You’ll also be able to rent Voi rental e-scooters on the app, as well as organise your travel on a variety of public transport.

You can also use the Beryl app directly if you prefer. All apps are available for free download on Google Play and the App Store.

Finding Beryl Bikes by Breeze is easy. When you open the Breeze or Beryl app, you’ll see the map of your immediate location and nearby bikes.

You’ll see two different symbols to indicate a bike and an e-bike.

The minimum age for hiring and riding a bike is 16. Although cycling is great no matter how old you are, for safety and insurance purposes, there is a minimum age to hire and ride Beryl Bikes by Breeze.

Absolutely no one under 16 is permitted to ride the bikes, and someone 16 or over must not unlock a bike for someone under the age of 16.

To unlock Beryl Bikes by Breeze, simply point the top of your smartphone near the centre of the unlock pad, which is in the middle of the handlebars. Hold it there until the bike unlocks.

You can also unlock by inputting the six-digit ID number that can be found on the unlock pad into the Breeze or Beryl app.

Beryl offers Public Liability Insurance. This is included in the prices charged for the scheme. More detail can be found in the service Terms and Conditions: Terms | Beryl

Beryl bikes by Breeze can be ridden anywhere it is legal to ride a normal pedal cycle. They are intended to operate and remain within a large, designated bike zone agreed with the local council. The limits of the zone are clearly marked in the apps and a map is also available on Beryl’s website.

In Portsmouth we started with a smaller area to trial the bikes, but this area is being expanded to cover the whole city in 2023.

If you hire a bike within the bike zone, you can cross the zone boundaries with no penalties as long as you finish your ride and lock the bike back in the zone.

If you ride outside the zone and lock a bike there, a £25 “Out of zone” charge will be added at the end of your ride. You’ll still be able to unlock the bike and ride back into the zone but be aware you’ll be charged the “Out of zone” fee every time you lock the bike outside the zone. This charge applies even if you just lock the bike for a very short time, e.g. to nip into a shop.

If you leave the bike outside the zone for more than 24 hours, you’ll be charged an additional £80 penalty fee to cover the cost of recovering the bike and returning it to the zone of operation.

Beryl will never automatically lock the bike remotely when you cross the zone boundaries as this would be dangerous for riders.

If you need to make a quick stop somewhere that we don’t yet have a docking station, find a place that your bike won’t cause an obstruction, open the app, and tap ‘pause my ride’.  You can pause for a maximum of 15 minutes, and this is charged at the same cost as riding.

You are free to unlock your bike and continue riding at any time, but please be sure to park your bike in a considerate place even if you’re only stopping for a few minutes.

If you have paused your ride and run over the allotted 15 minutes, your ride will end automatically. You will receive notifications leading up to this to remind you that your time is almost up. Remember you will also be charged any out of bay or out of zone fees if they apply, so it is important that you end your ride at a parking hub in the usual manner.

Beryl Bikes by Breeze need to be docked in a designated Beryl parking bay. These are in key locations where you can start and end a ride. To help us maintain an organised bike share scheme, you will be charged a £10 “Out of Bay” fee if you do not end your ride at a Beryl bay.

Beryl Bikes by Breeze are available to hire 24/7.

Please be aware that customer support is available Mon-Sun 7am-9pm. Outside of these hours unstaffed automated support is available.

Pedal bike riders can Pay-As-You-Ride at a cost of £1 to unlock + 5p per minute. You can also use the Beryl app to buy minute bundles.

E-bike riders can Pay-As-You-Ride at a cost of £1.50 to unlock and 10p per minute.  You can also use the Beryl app to buy minute bundles.

Beryl is responsible for regularly checking and maintaining the bikes and e-bikes to ensure riders have a safe and enjoyable ride. Beryl employs a team of field operatives, workshop mechanics and field mechanics to support this work.

Beryl Bikes by Breeze have smart tracking that gives Beryl visibility of all the bikes and their locations. Beryl will collect and move bikes and e-bikes to meet rider demand.

The bikes are equipped with physical locks that can withstand vandalism. Beryl use digital processes that alert them to vandalism and track the bikes, along with their on-street operations.

On the Breeze app you can report issues and get in touch with transport operators using the ‘Support’ section of your Breeze account.

To contact Beryl you can:

  1. Send an email to support@beryl.cc
  2. Use the in-app chat
  3. Use the website chat
  4. Give Beryl a call on 020 3003 5044 from 7am – 9pm Monday-Sunday.

Working with Beryl and Solent Transport, we have reviewed available space where there is expected to be demand for the service. Each public highway location is then consulted on before approval is granted.

Solent Transport are also working with private landowners to install parking at key locations.

In the future, Beryl and Solent Transport plan to add cargo bikes and bikes specially adapted for people with mobility issues. This will allow a wider variety of people to use the bikes, including families and people with disabilities. You could even use one to do the big shop!

If the lock is stuck, make sure the lock is free to open and is not obstructed by the spokes of the wheel.

If the lock is free to open but is still having issues, try manually pulling up the lock bolt or giving it a wiggle to aid the lock in opening. Try this before and during the unlocking process when you hear the lock mechanism whirring.