Seven Castles

Bike Theft - -

                                      

September 9, 2005

 

Commuting by bike has long been a way of life for citizens of Shanghai. Despite the rise in private car ownership and improvements to Shanghai's public transportation system in the past 20 years, bike remains a firm favorite with locals. With a population of about 20 million people, Shanghai is home to about 9 million bikes and growing. It is the cheapest, most convenient, and often quickest mode of transport, particularly at rush hour. Meanwhile, biking is good for the circulation and the heart, and so reduces the risk of hypertension. Above all, bike is environment-friendly.

Unfortunately, bike theft, a common problem in many big cities, keeps working stiffs commuting by car or train each day. Buying a bike is a snap but keeping it can be a headache - everyone has a tale to tell of thefts in big cities. Bike theft has reached such a pitch that many people opt for buying second-hand bikes in the knowledge that they are stolen goods, thereby supporting and maintaining the illicit bike trade.

Bike as a status symbol is understandably a concept welcomed by bike manufacturers. They maintain that bike is a facet of culture that combines the latest in technology and fashion, and promote the new brands by expert enthusiasts. The current cycling vogue means that middle school students aspire to ever better, and consequently expensive, bikes. The show-off will easily invite troubles. Apart from making your bike less visually attractive it is wise to choose the location where you will leave it wisely, i.e. a suitably public place where many people pass by, and preferably where other people also leave their bikes. Lots of people coming and going makes thieves nervous.

There is no easy solution, most bike theft is opportunist - but there are professional bike thieves who will specifically target "nice" bikes, generally speaking if they decide they are going to take it they will. The time thief spend to open bike lock is even shorter than that the owners use their keys to open it. It was said that after being stolen of several bikes, a Chinese university student bought a new one, together with 7 locks. This angered the thieves and the bike was stolen again!

- 作者： zhangliping 访问统计：　2005年09月9日, 星期五 05:48 加入博采