Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Urban Solutions, have discovered that most stolen bicycles in Amsterdam end up where they were stolen. The research was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Amsterdam is one of the most bike-friendly cities. At the same time, residents of the city are not protected from thieves: tens of thousands of bicycles are stolen here annually – a significant part of the city’s about 850 thousand bicycles.
With the approval of the municipal authorities, scientists attached cheap tracking devices to 100 used bicycles in Amsterdam, left them in public places and waited for them to be stolen. From the beginning of June 2021 to the end of November 2021, 70 bikes were stolen, above the Amsterdam average.
It turned out that 68 of the 70 stolen bicycles remained in the area where they were stolen. About 18 were probably resold. This means new owners can use the bike in the same area without knowing it was stolen.
The researchers said the experiment provided valuable insight into the nature of the bicycle theft problem in Amsterdam. The results were shared with the Amsterdam authorities to help the municipality resolve the issue.