SURREY — Surrey Mounties have hooked up with a online bike registration and recovery app hoping it will help reduce bicycle theft and help return stolen bikes to their proper owners.
The service is called Project 529 Garage, or www.project529.com. The website and phone app enables cyclists to register their bikes online, for free, and if necessary broadcast "missing bike bulletins" to social networks to help recover stolen bikes.
Over the last two years Surrey recorded a 12 per cent increase in reported bike thefts, with most of them being stolen between May and October.
"Bike theft victims often don't have the serial number or adequate detail to identify their bike successfully, making it very difficult for police to reunite recovered bikes with their rightful owners," Corporal Scotty Schumann said. "As a result, the Surrey RCMP is encouraging bike owners to register their bikes with 529 Garage and secure the critical identifying information needed for police and insurance."
The Surrey RCMP, Project 529 Garage and bike shop representatives are marking Bike to Work Week (May 30 to June 5) with bike theft and prevention events May 28 at the Cloverdale Recreation Centre at 6188 176th Street and June 2 at City Hall Plaza at 13450 104th Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"With an increased number of bike owners committed to registering and marking their bikes with an identification number, we can work together and send a strong message to bike thieves," Schumann said.
tom.zytaruk@thenownewspaper.com