Beryl bikes are set to remain on the streets of Watford until 2026 – and take on riders from Croxley.

Riders have been able to hire the turquoise pushbikes and e-bikes throughout the Hertfordshire town since 2020.

Watford Borough Council’s cabinet members have agreed they would like to extend their contract with Beryl into 2025/26 following a meeting in late November – and Three Rivers District Council has agreed to spend £45,000 to bring the scheme into the Croxley Green neighbourhood.

Cyclists have ridden around 1.115 million kilometres (692,627 miles) on the Beryl bikes in Watford since the scheme launched – the same distance as travelling around the world almost 28 times.

Speaking at the Three Rivers Policy and Resources Committee meeting on Monday, December 4, the authority’s deputy leader Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst (LD, Leavesden) said: “This funding will go towards 15 e-bikes and the reason why it’s self-funding is that they are e-bikes.

The cash will come from existing long-term spending budgets in the short-term, and there is no plan to draw money from the council’s separate day-to-day services fund.

Cllr Giles-Medhurst said: “[The bikes] are all tracked, the batteries are replaced on a regular basis, and there is a guarantee that 15 e-bikes will be returned to our locations.”

Authority leaders clarified the 15 e-bikes that Three Rivers District Council plan to buy will become “interspersed” with the existing fleet, so the availability of pushbikes and e-bikes in Croxley will be “fluid”.

The bikes could be retrieved from either district.

“The bottom line is I think this is a huge improvement in what we can offer residents in terms of sustainability,” Cllr Giles-Medhurst said.

Leader of the Conservative Group in Three Rivers Cllr Oliver Cooper (Con, Chorleywood North and Sarratt) said: “In principle, we are very supportive of this proposal.”

He asked authority leaders about “other impacts on our services and revenue budgets, including – for example – misplacement of bikes or obstruction of traffic or footways, as has been the case with other hire schemes”.

Cllr Giles-Medhurst said: “It’s fair to say some people have misused the bikes, do leave them not in the location they should do, and on one occasion stacked the whole lot into a pyramid.

“That was removed within hours of being reported.

“Beryl is on the case when these things occur.

“We cannot legislate for people misusing them.”

He added bikes have previously been left at Croxley Met station, which could suggest demand already exists in the neighbourhood.

Before the meeting, Cllr Narinder Sian (G, Dickinsons) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It would be amazing to connect Watford with Croxley Green, then through to Rickmansworth.

“If we generate the demand for cycling, we can improve the infrastructure for all sorts of cyclists.”

He added: “Connecting Croxley Station with the industrial area would be great for commuters who might not want to use their cars.

“Cycling improvements could reduce the number of car journeys, reduce congestion, improve air quality, connect people and build communities.”

The existing Beryl zone covers Watford Met and Watford Junction stations.

According to the firm, there are 200 bikes and 100 e-bikes in the town, plus 45 bikes and 25 e-bikes as part of a separate scheme in Borehamwood.

The company also has a fleet of eight cargo bikes in Hackney and four in Westminster.

The Watford scheme has 33,171 active users, and the average ride time is 25 minutes.

Before Watford Borough Council can extend its Beryl contract into the 2025/26 financial year, the full council must have the chance to comment on the plans.