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Aberdeen ebike thieves caught ‘red-handed’ thanks to GPS tracking

The Big Issue eBike scheme was rolled out in Aberdeen in November, but the launch was plagued by crime. But thanks to GPS technology and the police, this problem has vastly reduced. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.
The Big Issue eBike scheme was rolled out in Aberdeen in November, but the launch was plagued by crime. But thanks to GPS technology and the police, this problem has vastly reduced. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

Stolen Aberdeen ebikes have been tracked down and located inside thieves’ flats thanks to GPS technology in the bikes themselves.

Launched in November last year, the Big Issue eBike project has put hundreds of rentable electric bikes onto the streets of the Granite City.

Unfortunately, its launch was marred by vandalism and thefts.

Damaged Big Issue ebikes
A number of the big issue eBikes were vandalised and smashed up in Duthie Park soon after the launch. Image: Fubar News

But Jan Tore Endresen, the CEO of the initiative, says problems with crime are largely now a thing of the past — thanks to the diligent help of Aberdeen police officers, and the use of the company’s own satellite tracking data.

How GPS has helped catch criminals who stole the Aberdeen ebikes ‘red-handed’

Jan Tore Endresen, CEO of Big Issue eBikes, with one of the ebikes you can now rent in Aberdeen. Image: Wullie Marr/DC Thomson

Jan explained that all of the vehicles have their own GPS tracking technology equipped, which helps the company keep an eye on where they’re being used.

They use this data to help decide, for example, where to create new parking zones.

But it’s also proven useful in finding stolen bikes.

The CEO said he’s worked in bike hire schemes in several cities across the UK and elsewhere, but said the way the police in Aberdeen have been handling incidents of theft or vandalism has been exceptionally good.

ebikes ready to be used in aberdeen
All of the Aberdeen ebikes come equipped with GPS tracking technology. Image: Wullie Marr / DC Thomson

He said: “They take it seriously, they’re just fantastic.

“They pinpoint efficient ways of handling it, we give them some data, and they follow-up immediately.”

By sharing GPS location data on where a stolen bike has gone with the police, Jan says officers are able to easily track down the thieves.

“If you have a bike that’s stolen and inside a flat, they help us the next day to get it out,” explained Jan.

He continued: “We’ve actually been able to catch people red-handed with a bike inside their apartment.

You can use the Aberdeen ebike rental app to find bikes for hire using GPS technology. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson.

“Because the police can know which bikes are stolen and which are not, they are able to act much more promptly.

“It’s the competence and the way the police work in Aberdeen which has made a big difference, and because of that, the vandalism in Aberdeen has been reduced to a minimum.”

He said thanks to the efforts of the police, Aberdeen has “so far been a much more pleasant city to launch in than any other UK city we have had experiences with so far.”

Inspector Lynne Kortland said: “The ebikes rental scheme has been welcomed by users in Aberdeen and is an additional form of transport within our communities.

“It is unfortunate that there are thefts and vandalism associated with it and any report of this kind of crime will be investigated.

“Anyone wishing to report an incident should call us on 101.”

How has the Aberdeen ebike hire scheme been performing so far?

Aberdeen’s rentable ebikes at the beach. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Jan acknowledged that November was “probably the worst time ever” to launch the Aberdeen ebike hire scheme due to the cold, dark, wet conditions.

But he said in the months since the roll-out, the project has shifted up a gear.

There are now 2,881 users signed up, and Jan thinks that “Aberdeen certainly has the potential to reach 10,000 to 12,000 users” in the end.

As well as increasing the number of virtual parking zones for the initiative from the around 40 at launch to the current 54, more bikes themselves are planned.

There are now much more ebike parking zones located around Aberdeen. Image: Kieran Beattie/DC Thomson.

There are about 230 on the streets of the Granite City right now, but Jan says this will soon increase to 330.

“We’re adding them because bigger schemes work better than small schemes,” he explained.

“You usually need more than 400 to make a scheme that’s sustainable, so this is our target.”

Jan also hopes the new recently launched payment options for the scheme, including a £1 for seven minutes option, will get more people in the saddle.

Heat maps show where Aberdeen ebike riders are cycling

This heat map shows where the bikes are being used most around Aberdeen. Image: Big Issue eBikes.

Big Issue eBikes uses its GPS trackers to create heat maps of where its users are cycling in Aberdeen.

These maps show data from where people have been taking them over the past week around the city.

This view of the beach shows where people have been cycling the ebikes along the city’s coastline. Image: Big Issue eBikes.

This information is shared routinely with the city council, and is used by the scheme operators to decide where they should, or should not, have their parking zones in place.

Jan said: “You can see the patterns showing where people want to go on the bikes.

“You’ll see Union Street is really busy.

The city centre is one of the places where the ebikes are used the most according to the company’s data. Image: Big Issue eBikes.

“The beach is also a popular place, and so is Duthie Park.

“So it’s very easy to see where people want to bike, but you can also see where people don’t want to bike.”

The company is able to use data like this to help decide where it should be focusing its efforts. Image: Big Issue eBikes.

Jan and his team say they’re happy to see people have been using the ebikes along the routes of their new parking zones, such as those created along the Deeside Way in Cults, Bieldside, Milltimber and Culter.

He said he’s had requests to roll out the zones to other areas of the city currently lacking them, such as around Mastrick and Kincorth.

If you want to make a suggestion for a new Big Issue ebike parking zone, you can email Jan and his team at info@bigissue.bike

Want to give one of the Aberdeen ebikes a shot? Check out our guide:

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