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Gosport and Totton set for e-bike scheme expansion

BBC Some of the e-bikes in SouthamptonBBC
E-bikes are currently available in Southampton city centre as well as Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight

An e-bike hire scheme is set to be rolled out to two more towns.

Beryl Bikes - both pedal and e-bikes - have been available in Southampton, Portsmouth and on the Isle of Wight since October.

A report for Solent Transport recommends allocating more than £340,000 to extend it to Gosport and Totton.

It said the scheme could be extended to further locations within Hampshire if the pilots prove successful.

The initiative was launched by Solent Transport - a partnership of local councils - in a bid to reduce traffic and improve air quality.

The report said Gosport and Totton were "natural progressions" from the existing schemes in neighbouring Portsmouth and Southampton.

The initial launch of Beryl Bikes was approved in June last year with £2.1m agreed.

Department for Transport data shows more than 1,800 people used the 162 bikes in Portsmouth during the first two months of the scheme's operation.

In Southampton there were 1,362 users, while the figure was 566 for the Isle of Wight.

However, the average ride time on the island was almost twice the length of the two cities at 47 minutes.

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