BOSTON, MA (BRAIN)—Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Boston Bikes program unveiled an innovative system to recover stolen bicycles.
Stolen Bikes Boston: Community Alert harnesses the power of social networks to alert the maximum number of relevant individuals when a bicycle theft occurs. Real-time posts to Twitter and Facebook and e-mails transmit a picture and brief description of the stolen bike to the bicycle community and the Boston Police. An extensive contact list including local college and hospital security forces as well as area bike shops is alerted.
“Programs like 'Stolen Bikes Boston: Community Alert' are helping Boston to quickly become a world-class bicycling community,” said Mayor Menino. “Fresh, innovative and fun ideas that use new technology like this program show the progress that we’re making on a daily basis. By using the eyes of the whole community we can return stolen bikes to their rightful owners and help make Boston a truly bike friendly city.”
If a stolen bicycle is sighted Stolen Bikes Boston can be easily alerted via an online form or by calling the police. Any interested community member can opt into the program simply by following the alerts on Twitter or becoming a fan of the program on Facebook.
“As Mayor Menino’s Boston Bikes succeeds in increasing the number of bicyclists in the city, we want to stay a step ahead and do everything we can to reduce the number of bike thefts in Boston, and return bikes to their rightful owners when thefts do occur,” said Boston Bikes director Nicole Freedman.
This initiative is part of Mayor Menino’s extensive efforts to make Boston a premiere bicycling city. The Mayor’s Boston Bikes program has also published a bike map of the city showing the best roads to ride, installed over 330 bike racks since last year, created several miles of bike lanes, and organized events to increase bike commuting and bike awareness. The organization is currently in the process of bringing a bike share program to Boston, installing several more miles of bike lanes, and adding 250 more bike racks.
