Bike share provider Beryl and tour bus operator City Sightseeing Bournemouth have joined forces to offer combined bus and bike tickets – a great car-free alternative for visitors and residents.

The discounted combination ticket will give customers a 24-hour unlimited use of the City Sightseeing Bournemouth open top bus service and Beryl bikes to help alleviate surging traffic across the conurbation as lockdown restrictions continue to ease.

The new initiative expects to keep hundreds of personal motor vehicles off the roads whilst making it easier and more enjoyable for people to travel in sustainable ways. This could have a great impact on Bournemouth’s local economy with studies showing that cyclists visit local shops more regularly and spend more than users of most other modes of transport.

City Sightseeing Bournemouth managing director Tim Sanders said: “Many residents and visitors to Bournemouth experienced the frustrations of an unprecedented volume of traffic across the conurbation last summer. Our work with Beryl will ensure that we can welcome visitors to come and enjoy their time here, see all the sights and enjoy the lovely environment, without adding to the congestion or air pollution.

“Our open top double deckers follow the coast to Sandbanks and then along the shores of Poole Harbour to Poole Quay, this year for the first time actually driving through Poole Park, before returning through Ashley Cross and Westbourne to Bournemouth Pier.  There are loads of cycle paths and car free routes for people to explore the area further and then at any point they can lock up their bikes in a Beryl bay and jump back on the bus. Tickets can be bought online or directly from the driver.”

Beryl’s Ben Lee said: “We understand that not all journeys are possible by bike, that’s why we are excited to partner with City Sightseeing Bournemouth to launch this initiative that will give visitors and residents the best possible opportunity to take more sustainable trips.

“By encouraging people to leave their personal motor vehicles at home we are freeing up Bournemouth’s streets to those that need them, as well as helping change transport habits for the better in the future. We all want Bournemouth to recover from Covid in an environmentally friendly way and this partnership is part of our commitment.”

The City Sightseeing Bournemouth route departs every hour, between 10am and 5pm from Bournemouth Pier to Poole Quay via Sandbanks. There are numerous Beryl Bays close to every bus stop, and users can find out the exact location of the bikes by using the free to download Beryl app from any smartphone store.

24-7 online booking is available at citysightseeing-bournemouth.co.uk