Riders have now covered the equivalent of almost 50 trips around the Earth on the town’s bike and e-bike share scheme, with record use over the past year...
The UK’s leading micromobility provider Beryl and Watford Borough Council are celebrating a major milestone for the town’s bike and e-bike share scheme: two million kilometres ridden since it launched in March 2020.
That is the equivalent of almost 50 journeys around the Earth, clocked up across more than 720,000 trips by more than 50,000 riders. The scheme passed its first million kilometres in July 2023.
Most of those kilometres are everyday local journeys. A typical Beryl trip in Watford is around 2.6 km - the kind of short hop to the station, the town centre, work or the park that might otherwise be made by car or taxi.
Busier than ever
The scheme is now more popular than at any point since launch. Riders made more than 138,000 journeys and covered more than 347,000 km over the past 12 months - more than in any previous calendar year.
E-bikes are leading the way. So far this year, more than four in five journeys have been made on a Beryl e-bike, following the council’s decision in January 2026 to extend the scheme until at least April 2031 and add 120 new e-bikes to the fleet.
Watford Junction is the network’s busiest bay, with 29,819 journeys starting or ending there in the last 12 months. That’s more than one in five Watford trips from a single bay. Usage is up 43% year on year, and with 81% of trips made on weekdays and clear peaks around the morning and evening trains, it has become a vital first and last mile link for rail commuters.
With 90 bays now live, Watford’s Beryl network is making it easier than ever to make sustainable local journeys. Over the past two years, new bays have opened at Watford Metropolitan and Garston stations, at three major housing developments (Cortland Cassiobury, Riverwell and The Exchange), and at workplaces such as Watford Business Park and the Wenta Business Centre.
In 2024, the scheme grew beyond Watford into Bushey and Croxley Green, bringing Beryl bikes to more local residents. Together with Watford Borough, Hertsmere Borough, Three Rivers District and Hertfordshire County Council, we’ll keep developing the network so it’s fairer, more convenient to park and has bikes available where people need them.
Changing how Watford travels
Beryl’s 2025 Annual Rider Survey found that around 70% of Watford users said the scheme enabled journeys they would not otherwise have made. Asked how they would have travelled without Beryl, 20% said they would have driven a car or van and 23% would have used a taxi or ride-share. Two-thirds (66%) said they now cycle more often or much more often since joining. Riders have also spent more than 250,000 hours in the saddle since launch, helping people build activity into their day.
The scheme is also opening up cycling to people who might otherwise miss out. Newly employed jobseekers referred through Jobcentre Plus get a free first month and 12 months at half price and local Community Champions help break down barriers to cycling in under-represented groups.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “Reaching two million kilometres is a fantastic milestone for Watford and shows just how much our bike and e-bike share scheme has become part of everyday life in the town.
“It’s particularly encouraging to see record numbers of journeys and more people embracing e-bikes. By investing in the scheme and expanding the network, we’re helping to give residents and visitors more choice in how they travel, while supporting our ambitions for a cleaner, healthier and better-connected Watford.”
Philip Ellis, Co-founder and CEO, Beryl: “Two million kilometres is a huge collective effort from everyone who rides in Watford, and we’d like to thank them. What stands out is how much of it is everyday travel – short, local trips that could otherwise have been made by car or taxi. Our partnership with Watford Borough Council has made bike share part of the fabric of the town, and the move to e-bikes is helping more people ride further and more
You can hire a Beryl bike or e-bike through the Beryl app, free to download from the App Store and Google Play. For more information, visit beryl.cc.
