Beryl Bikes rules itself out of Exeter bike hire contract

Exeter has been without a fleet of hireable electric bikes and cars since the collapse of Co Cars and Co Bikes in the summer

An expanding rentable electric bikes company has confirmed it has no plans to bring a fleet to Exeter. Since last July, the city has suffered the loss of its bike and car hire company Co Cars and Co Bikes after it went into administration.

The non-profit company said it has been "severely affected" by the pandemic, cost of living crisis, high fuel prices and vandalism to bikes. Speculation has been mounting about who might try and resurrect electric bike and car hire in Exeter.

Confirmation has come today from Beryl Bikes that it won't be them, despite bringing a fleet of 500 rentable electric bikes to Plymouth. London-based sports goods company Smidsy Ltd, which runs the Beryl Bikes scheme, brought an initial 125 Beryl Bikes and 28 docking stations to Plymouth in March 2023 as part of the city council’s new Connect Plymouth initiative to offer more sustainable ways to get around.

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The company runs its own systems with long-term contracts with some councils such as Norfolk County Council and Watford Borough Council. It also sells its platform and services to large transport authorities, such as Transport for London, to deliver publicly owned bike share systems.

In May 2023, it had made a loss of more than £4m the previous year and twice breached banking covenants. However, it stressed it has had to invest large sums of money, is spreading to more locations and has the backing of a major shareholder.

Smidsy’s annual report and financial statement said the 2022 figures were based on it running five bike share schemes, but in 2023 it has already added another five, including e-bike schemes in Cornwall and Plymouth, with two more in the pipeline. It has plans to open a £2m factory in Dorset which will be the second largest e-bike plant in the UK, building 150 e-bikes a month.

As of yet, that vision does not extend into Exeter.

A spokesperson for Beryl Bikes said: "No, we aren't taking over Co Bikes."

Co Cars and Co Bikes was first founded in 2005 with just one car but most recently was offering a fleet of 50 electric and low-emission shared cars and more than 200 electric bikes. It is reported to have had a combined membership of over 10,000 people across the region, proving popular with people looking for convenient, low emission ways to get around.

The scheme was also heavily used by people working in the gig economy, mainly delivery drivers for delivery apps such as Deliveroo and Just Eat.

At the time of its collapse, Exeter MP Sir Ben Bradshaw said: "[I am] gutted by the collapse of Co Bikes and Co Cars, Exeter’s brilliant not-for-profit e-bike and e-car sharing scheme. [They have] done so much to cut pollution, congestion, boost active travel and made access to e-cars affordable. Hope another provider comes in to save this vital service."