'Insurers, bicycle industry and government must fight together against e-bike theft'

An increase in bicycle thefts, especially those of e-bikes, have depressed the result of insurer Bovemij over the past year. On Thursday morning, Bovemij reported a result from ordinary business operations of 21 million euros. That was less than half of the operating profit in 2021, when a profit of 43.6 million euros was achieved. Thijs Jagt, product manager at Unigarant, also sees a huge increase in the number of stolen e-bikes. "To turn the tide, cooperation between insurers, politicians, police and the owners of e-bikes is essential."

First of all, Jagt shares some figures. "In 2020, there will be 25 million bicycles, of which 3.1 million will be e-bikes. Of the new bicycles sold, 52 percent are e-bikes with an average value of 2,400 euros. Bicycle theft is the most common property crime. In 2019, there was more than 600 million in damage. There was also a sharp increase in the number of bicycle thefts in 2021. There are 735,000 stolen bicycles, of which 110,000 are e-bikes. That trend continued in 2022. Compared to 2020, there were 25 percent more reports of e-bike theft in 2021." The retail value of the stolen bicycles has also risen sharply. In 2020, 18 percent of stolen bicycles had a value of more than two thousand euros, in 2022 this will be 61 percent. This is mainly because more expensive e-bikes are stolen in particular."

Thijs Jagt

As far as the thieves are concerned, according to Jagt, it is both occasional thieves and organized gangs that transport bicycles abroad. The share of thefts by organised gangs is also increasing. This is evident because more and more often several bicycles are stolen. For example, there are known examples where 23 bicycles, 18 of which e-bikes were stolen in one go. Finally, the thefts mainly take place in highly urban areas, border regions and coastal areas. The theft is most common in shopping areas (29 percent), around home (29 percent) and train stations (21 percent).

"For example, there are known examples where 23 bicycles of which 18 e-bikes were stolen in one go"

ART locks

Jagt has been a product manager at Unigarant for five years. He is responsible for everything that goes on the road, including bicycles and e-bikes. In addition, he is on the board of the Foundation for tackling bicycle and e-bike theft (SAFE). "Within this role, I am working on the theme of bicycle theft. You can see the number of bicycle thefts increasing and from my position at Unigarant we are also trying to do something about that. We want everyone to be less affected by the growing problem."

To combat the number of thefts, e-bike owners also have a responsibility. "In addition to the fixed lock, the advice is to attach the bicycle to a fixed object with an ART 2-star lock (see also box, ed.). For more expensive bicycles from two thousand euros, it is also advisable to secure bicycles with track and trace systems. With these systems, the bicycle can then be found properly if it is stolen. What happens a lot is that the track and trace system is built in where the motor and bottom bracket are located on the bike. You can't see it there, so as a thief you don't know it's over." In the end, a combination of a mechanical lock, an electronic lock and track and trace is best, according to the product manager. "Every security system has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, you can open mechanical locks with brute force and electronic security can be hacked by thieves by tapping the signal. With a combination you prevent theft as much as possible; Although it will always be a game of cat and mouse."

Use of network and bicycle registration essential

Jagt emphasizes that the entire network consisting of insurers, politicians, police and bicycle owners must work together to prevent theft. "Bicycle theft is unfortunately so attractive because the value of bicycles is increasing. They are also easy to steal, easily tradable and the chance of being caught is very small, because the police do not give priority to bicycle theft."

"The moment you register bicycles, they can be returned to the owner more easily and are also less easy to trade"

According to him, SAFE wants to mean something on all fronts. "We emphasize the importance of locks and prevention and consult with the NS about what we can do about the problem, because many bicycles are also stolen at train stations. In addition, we should come to a well-filled bicycle register. The moment you register bicycles, they can be returned to the owner more easily and are also less easy to trade. At the moment there is a register, but that is voluntary and there are currently too few bicycles included. Eventually you would have to go to the same registration of bicycles as is currently the case with cars. We are investigating how we can organize this in a pragmatic way. It remains to be seen how to organize this, because with resale it quickly becomes difficult. Suppose you buy a second-hand bike, how do you do it in terms of registration? You may also wonder whether it is necessary with older bicycles, because it is mainly new bicycles that are susceptible to theft. Nevertheless, there is certainly a great chance of prevention here," concludes Jagt.

What exactly is an ART lock?

"With the increasing popularity of e-bikes and electric cargo bikes, their theft is also becoming an increasing problem," the Association reported at the beginning of this year. To prevent theft, it is advisable to attach these precious and attractive two-wheelers with a second lock to the 'fixed world' when parking. The ART Foundation advises to use at least one ART 1 star ( ART *) for a second slot. For the second lock mounted on the bicycle, the foundation proposes an ART 2 star (ART**) lock. But what exactly are ART locks? Where can you find them and how can you be sure that the lock you buy is actually ART certified? Henk van Vliet, certification manager at KIWA-SCM , which provides the certification for the ART Foundation , explains this.


Henk van Vliet

What are the main differences between a 1 and 2 star slot?
"The main difference is in what the locks can handle in terms of 'attack resistance'. We test for this in the SKG-Ikob test laboratory in Geldermalsen. The test consists of two parts. First of all, we try to break open the lock with brute force. In addition, the lock itself is manipulated by, for example, trying to open the lock cylinder or manipulating the pins. With 1 star, the attack resistance is lower than with 2 stars and then certain tools are excluded. For example, a 2-star lock holds up against cable pliers or concrete scissors, a 1-star lock does not."

How does the e-bike owner know how many stars a lock has?
"There's an approval label that's on the lock. Sometimes this is printed in and there is big ART on it. The number of colored stars indicates how many stars a lock has."

Where can I buy the locks?
"Every normal bicycle shop has ART-approved locks. There is also a lot for sale online and we keep track of whether websites do not use our name incorrectly; We check this continuously. If the quality mark is finished, you can therefore assume that it is in order."

Are there any new developments coming in the field of lock and security?
"A lot of people have questions about electronic locks. These are already there and the locks that have been approved have an 'e' after the approval number. With these locks you can, for example, unlock your bike via a special app. You no longer need a key and you can also easily borrow someone's bike with an unlock code that expires after a day. The lock works via a signal from the phone to the lock and everything is registered within the app. Locking the bike is still done manually. However, it is not yet a storm; At the moment, we have only issued a 2-star mark for two electronic locks."

Finally. What is the status of track and trace systems for bicycles?
"At the moment there is no room for track and trace within the quality mark. We are working on it within the certification and we will certainly look at this in the future. The best thing would be if in the future we had a central database in which all bicycles with a track and trace system are registered, just like with passenger cars. This database can then be consulted by insurers, so that the stolen bicycles can be retrieved via an investigation service. There is a great opportunity there. Especially because a closed bicycle is worth much more nowadays than it used to be. In the coming period, we hope to enter into discussions with SAFE to investigate what we can do for each other in this area."