Stolen Bike Stats from the U.K.

Interesting bike stats from the UK, via cyclingweekly.co.uk. And I like their focus on the internet resale problem. (For those of you unfamiliar with it, "Gumtree" is essentially the UK's version of Craigslist.)

Police estimate 60,000 bikes stolen in London last year

The number of bikes reported stolen in London soared to 23,000 in  in 2009 - up 30 per cent. The crisis has moved London Cycling Campaign to  launch a major anti-theft  "Beat the Thief" campaign. But police estimate that the true total of stolen bikes could be as high as 60,000, if unreported thefts are included.

An LCC survey  of more than 500 London cyclists reveals that one in six cyclists claim to have recognised a stolen bike for sale on websites Gumtree and eBay.

Mike Cavenett, LCC communications officer, said: "Internet sales of stolen bikes are out of control. Imagine if this was stolen cars we were talking about? Something needs to be done about this theft epidemic."

According to the survey, 80 percent of cyclists have had at  least one bike stolen, with one-in-10 saying they've lost four or more bikes to thieves.

A worrying development is that two-thirds of cyclists say they are using their bikes less frequently because they fear their bikes being stolen.

The article describes the LCC's ideas, among them -- 'tougher action against selling stolen on websites, a code of practice for bike shops, tougher action against street markets, and a central repository for recovered bikes.'