Police and insurers to tackle the wave of thefts of electric bikes.
In 2015 a record number of e-bikes stolen. The police will deploy more lokfietsen to track down gangs of professional bicycle thieves.
Insurers say the number of thefts of e-bikes in the past year has increased significantly. "We have 20 percent more paid after the theft of e-bikes," says director Douwe Boeijenga bike insurer ENRA. "In 2015 the number of thefts was really extreme. We see a significant increase."
Also Unigarant, the insurance from the ANWB, confirms that in the past year significantly more electric bikes are stolen.
EUR million
That more and more electric bikes are stolen, at any rate in part a consequence of the growing number of e-bikes in the Netherlands. Exact figures are not there, because in reporting police figures do not distinguish between regular and electric bicycles.
It is estimated that last year some 25,000 e-bikes are stolen. At present there are about 1.5 million e-bikes in the Netherlands. How many were sold last year, is not yet known. In 2014 there were 223 000.
The three biggest bike insurers over the past year certainly lost 10.5 million euros in damages. A new e-bike can easily cost between 1500 and 2500 euros.
Eastern Europe
The police have evidence that electric bikes are especially popular with organized gangs. Thus passed in October, a batch of 200 e-bikes at a company in IJsselstein. The police encounters sometimes vans in which dozens of stolen bicycles are transported simultaneously.
Insurers believe that many stolen bikes go to Eastern Europe, also because the bikes are properly registered in the Netherlands.
The parties start the theft of e-bikes therefore focused approach. The places where most bikes disappear in the coming period will be mapped. The police will drop electric lokfietsen. Until now, especially with lokfietsen opportunist thieves caught. Police now wants to track the professional thieves and receivers. This can be done by continuing to follow the lokfietsen longer, to see where they ultimately end up.
Insurers believe that bicycle owners are too lax in securing their e-bike. They point to the importance of extra locks. They also ask municipalities to put more iron gates, where the bikes can be put down.
NOS.nl/ © Michael Smith / NOS
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