![]() She also mentions that the organization has seen a spike in bike thefts from more residential areas, like locked garages or apartment buildings. They don't know that their bike is vulnerable to theft," she adds. Williams says that new riders might opt for a cable lock, which can be cut easily with basic hardware equipment. The number of bikes registered in Bike Index jumped from 306,760 at the end of 2019 to 548,099 in the following year. ![]() "With the increase in ridership, we see a lot of riders who don't really know how to lock their bike," Williams says. In addition, many bike owners do not keep records of the serial number of their bikes, and it's challenging to return it to them, according to the Denver Police Department. Often, bike thieves manage to get rid of the bike quickly by selling it, which can make it hard to track. Once a bike stolen, it's rare that the owner can retrieve it. But he mentions that underreporting of these incidents leads to under-prioritization. Since the data is limited, attempts to provide an accurate portrait of the issue involve extrapolation and guesswork, according to J Allard, founder of Project 529. The Chicago Police Department reported a 3% decrease during the year as well. Meanwhile, San Francisco has seen a slight decrease in bike theft in 2020, according to the city's police department. 21 of last year when compared to the same period in 2019, according to The New York Times. New York City has similarly seen a nearly 30% spike from March to Sept. As for Boston, Mass., it has climbed from 790 in 2019 to 1015 in the last year, a 28% increase. Denver, Colo., has seen around 26% increase in bike theft between 2019-2020, according to the Denver Police Department. In Seattle, Wash., there was a 54% increase in reported bicycle thefts. Some cities across the country are also seeing spikes in bicycle thefts. The increase could be attributed to new riders entering the market. ![]() If a bike is stolen, the owner can report it on Bike Index and receive messages and tips through a secure messaging platform.Īt the end of 2020, Bike Index estimates that the total number of bikes marked stolen was 96,583, an approximately 24% increase from the data of 2019. Novice cyclists who picked up the habit recently or are relying more heavily on bikes for transportation may also be unaware of the basics of bike security - especially in urban areas.Įlizabeth Abrams' bicycle before it was stolen in December 2020.īicycle registries such as Bike Index allow cyclists to register their bikes for free. The rising demand, increase in ridership, and shortage of bikes nationwide among other factors, has likely contributed to a rise in theft, according to Bike Index, a nonprofit organization and national bicycle registry. The pandemic led to an unprecedented boom in bikes sales. "I live with a few roommates and we had four bikes that were outside and we had them locked and overnight the lock was cut and all of the bikes were taken," Abrams says.Ībrams tried to recover the bike by filing a police report and looked around on online websites such as Facebook Marketplace in hopes of finding her stolen bike listed for sale locally.īut none of her roommates, nor she, had any luck.Īlthough bike theft has always been a common issue, especially in urban areas, it increased during the pandemic in a number of cities. His bike was stolen from his home a few weeks ago.īefore the COVID-19 pandemic, Elizabeth Abrams mainly cycled for fun, but when she moved to Washington, D.C., a fairly bikeable city, in 2020, her motivations for biking became much more practical.Ībrams did not want to take public transportation during the pandemic, and therefore, relied on her bicycle as the main form of transportation.īut months later, her bike got stolen from her back patio in Petworth, a neighborhood in the northwest quadrant of the city. resident, out for a ride on his mountain bike.
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