Bristol has overtaken London as the worst city in the UK for bike theft in 2024.
82 percent of cyclists in Bristol say they have been impacted by bike theft, beating out Newcastle on 76 percent and Edinburgh on 74 percent. The figure places Bristol significantly above the UK average, 70 percent.
In the survey, conducted by Novuna, 51 percent of bikes were stolen from public places, with 30 percent stolen from homes.
There is a growing need for better bike locks among cyclists, despite 46 percent of thefts occurring in locked bikes. This has forced 66 percent of cyclists, 2.5 million people, to invest in better bike locks to prevent further thefts.
Rising bike thefts have caused 320,000 cyclists to give up cycling altogether, while 870,000 now cycle less frequently as a result.
It has been proven that people who cycle produce 84 percent less daily carbon emissions from transport use compared to non-cyclists. This means reductions in cycling due to theft could have severe negative impacts on Bristol reaching Net-Zero by 2030. The Bristol SU places this as one of their main aims in becoming more sustainable, with less environmentally damaging transport seen as good way to reduce carbon footprints.
Bristol City Council introduced six new bike hangers - places for local people to securely store their bikes in streets - this month due to exceptional demand. Council data showed that five out of six spaces had sold out within 90 minutes. There have been no announcements of new bike hangers to help locals and reduce bike theft at this point.
The Netherlands serves as a case study for preventing bike theft, with Dutch company VanMoof leading by example. The smart bike company fits all bikes with trackers and, in the event the bike is stolen, they send the bike into lockdown mode and send out a team of bike hunters to track down and retrieve the stolen bike. The incorporation of such methods could significantly reduce bike thefts in the UK and address decreased rates of cycling as a result.
Meanwhile, there is growing anger at police inadequacies in the UK over the issue, with less than 3% of bike thefts since 2019 ending in either a charge or a summons on a national level. The issue is even more pronounced in Bristol, with Avon and Somerset having a charge or summon rate of just 0.91 percent.
