Company hopes new security measures will protect bikes from thieves and vandals this time
OVO Bikes have returned to Cardiff after being off the streets for two months while new security measures were put in place.
Nextbike, which runs the bicycle rental scheme, had pulled its bikes out of Cardiff in November after unprecedented levels of theft, vandalism, and abuse of members of staff.
About 300 out of the original fleet of 1,030 had been stolen and 260 were vandalised beyond repair. Nextbike workers had faced serious abuse on the streets, with one being chased with a shovel and another losing part of their ear in an attack.
It is now bringing back a reduced number of 400 bikes in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, but this will be increased to just under 900 over the next two months.
New charges have been introduced for when bikes are not returned to official bike stations. The scheme’s drivers, who retrieve the bikes, will now also wear body cameras for their personal security.
Andy Barnes, who works for Nextbike redistributing bikes in Cardiff, said: “There are certain circumstances where maybe there could be confrontation.
“It’s good for the staff safety where they’ve got that tool at hand that they can report some verbal altercations.”
He added: “Since the opening we’ve seen a better response. It’s early days admittedly, but dare I say the vandalism and the theft is not what it was at its peak.”
Mr Barnes believes there will still be some vandalism.
“It’s a shame because the minority could spoil it for the majority.
“We get positive feedback from all customers. I spoke to a customer at Bute station and she said, ‘I screamed with joy when I saw the bikes back at the station’ and that says it all.”
Nextbike is installing 13 new bike stations but has also removed four in Roath, Splott, and Rumney that had low usage but high crime rates.
To reduce the rate of bicycle-related crime, 19 organisations including Nextbike and South Wales Police have begun to share resources and intelligence as the Cardiff Cycle Crime Reduction Partnership.
Krysia Solheim, managing director of Nextbike UK, said: “We see the CCCRP as an important part of the solution to the problems we and other bicycle owners in the area have been facing across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.”
A similar partnership in Gwent resulted in a 29% reduction in bicycle theft. One strategy was to use “trap bikes” marked with a forensic solution, and fitted with trackers allowing police to easily retrieve them and identify thieves involved.
