Bike Registration Program Rebooted

The City of Long Beach is looking at bringing back a bike registration program.

Councilmembers voted unanimously to request the city manager to work with the police department and the technology and innovation department to see if there’s a way to create a free, voluntary online bike registration program.

Residents used to get bikes registered through the fire department for a minimal fee but that program was abandoned a number of years ago.

If a bicycle registration program is rebooted, it will take the form of an App-based registration system.

Third District Councilwoman Suzie Price – who spearheaded the topic during the June 20 city council meeting – said the stealing of bikes is a continual problem and that the thefts are underreported. Thus the 30 to 40 bike thefts that are reported to the police per month do not show the true extent of the problem.

“Bikes are the only item of personal property that we have that we actually leave outside in public for extended periods of time and we have generally speaking no documentation of ownership,” Price said during the meeting. “People don’t report their bikes missing when they are stolen so the data doesn’t show the full story. And when they do report it they often don’t have a serial number, make or model or any photos they can provide to the police department to get the bike returned to them.”

Price said a few companies currently provide bike registration services but the data is not linked to the LBPD. This makes it difficult for the police to access the data and return the bikes to the owners, if found.

Price said the agenda item will help the city become “more proactive and take an active role in confronting this growing problem.”

She added it’s important for the public to be a part of the solution and that making registration easy and free is essential.

“Bike theft and any theft should not become so normal that we accept it as a part of urban life or a cost of living in a coastal community like Long Beach,” Price said.

Pilfered bikes or bike parts can end up on Craigslist and EBay. And bikes can be sold on the street for a quick buck in order to get a quick fix.

“We can’t expect the residents to fight this problem alone so the city getting involved by providing an easy way for individuals to register their bikes and have their bikes returned to them if they are found is in my opinion a commonsensible approach.”

Councilman Roberto Uranga said he remembers as a kid getting his bike registered at the fire station.

“I would go to the fire department and they would give you a little sticker and number and your bike was registered and protected and I’m surprised actually that we got away from that. I think we need to go back to that. Unfortunately in this day and age of bigger and better bikes and more expensive bikes especially, this type of program is critical and timely.”

The item will determine whether or not the city can create an App-based program that allows residents to register their bikes with the police department so that bikes can be better tracked and returned to owners if found.

Second District Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce “Obviously in our district we have chop shops and alleyways behind my house that we continually go back and try to catch the guys, also our parks. I personally have had three bikes stolen in our city so I feel the pain. So I think this is a great idea having an App-based program.

kirt@beachcomber.news