There is a new name in town – Beryl.

Eastern Daily Press: Beryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella WilkinsonBeryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

A new bicycle rental scheme, Beryl Bikes, which has seen 225 pedal bikes crop up around Norwich, launched yesterday (Tuesday March, 17).

Cyclists will be able to pick up bikes from 47 locations throughout the city centre and the surrounding area, although this will jump to 70 in the coming months.

Eastern Daily Press: Norfolk County Council cabinet members left to right Mike Stonard, Andrew Jamieson and Martin Wilby with Beryl bikes CEO Phil Ellis on launch day of the public cycle operator in Norwich. Photo : Steve AdamsNorfolk County Council cabinet members left to right Mike Stonard, Andrew Jamieson and Martin Wilby with Beryl bikes CEO Phil Ellis on launch day of the public cycle operator in Norwich. Photo : Steve Adams (Image: Steve Adams 2019 07398 238853)

To prevent the bikes from going missing or ending up in places they shouldn’t, users will be encouraged to return the bikes to the allocated bays or risk paying a penalty charge of up to £5.

Anyone over the age of 16 can rent one of the bikes through the Beryl App, which is free to download across all mobile phone providers.

Eastern Daily Press: Beryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella WilkinsonBeryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

Bikes will cost £1 to unlock and riders will be charged 5p per minute through the Pay-As-You Ride option.

But a minutes bundle, which has no unlock fee and starts at 100 minutes for £5, and a day pass, which covers 24 hours of unlimited rising for £12, are also available.

Eastern Daily Press: Beryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella WilkinsonBeryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

Phillip Ellis, Beryl CEO, said: “We hope that by bringing our innovative scheme to the area, which will have both pedal and electric-assisted bicycles, it will have a positive effect on the local environment, encourage more people to use the excellent cycling infrastructure that Norwich already has in place and bring a bit more fun into people’s daily routines.”

The scheme has been brought to the city by Transport for Norwich, as part of a series of projects funded through central government’s Transforming Cities Fund.

Eastern Daily Press: Beryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella WilkinsonBeryl Bikes have joined forces with Transport for Norwich and the council to bring 300 bikes to Norfolk. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council’s cabinet member for Highways and Infrastructure and chair of the Transforming Cities Joint Committee, said: “Norwich is already one of the country’s leading cycling cities. This scheme will allow us to build on that by offering people more flexibility and choice around sustainable transport options, which ultimately helps us to reduce congestion and emissions while staying active and healthy in our day-to-day lives.”

“We’ve already seen a 40pc uplift in cycling through the infrastructure we have delivered to date and will look to grow this further should we be successful in the next round of transforming cities funding.”