Existing comment:
So many bikes have been stolen or vandalized in Baltimore that officials had to halt the bike-share system
By Luz Lazo September 17
Washington Post
Less than a year after its launch, Baltimore's $2.36 million bike-sharing system has fallen victim to the city's rising crime problem.
Charm City has lost so many of the program's bikes to theft and vandalism that the city has temporarily shut down Baltimore Bike Share while officials work to change the bike kiosks' locking mechanism and tighten security.
"The crime issue in Baltimore is real," said Liz Cornish, executive director of the Baltimore-based advocacy group Bikemore. "Bike Share is a victim of that."
Officials say thieves figured out a way to compromise the docking system, ripping bikes off the stations to later abandon them in alleys and on sidewalks. Transportation officials declined to say how many of the program's 230 bikes have been stolen since the program started in October -- nor would they say how many of the bikes have not been recovered. |