Vandalism, the scourge of micro-mobility
On February 22, 2023, we wrote our first article on vandalism, tackling a subject that all too often remains taboo among local authorities and their operators.
But just because a problem is invisible doesn't mean it doesn't exist. And it's not an isolated case, but a global problem that we're addressing today. Vandalism is universal, and spares no shared micro-mobility system.
If you're lucky enough to have a shared bike or scooter system in your city, then you, dear reader, will have seen it for yourself. Vandalism ranges from the most insignificant acts, such as dropping a shared scooter or bike on the ground, to the relentless degradation of equipment: bikes and their stations broken and set on fire.
The definition of vandalism, taken from the Larousse, Le Robert dictionary, is as follows: “The wilful act by another of destroying or seriously damaging, without legitimate reason, valuable objects, public equipment or buildings.” But then, is vandalism inevitable? That's the question we're going to answer today.
Breaking the vandalism taboo
Let's start with a few concrete, recent examples:
In January 2023, Marseille launched its “Le Vélo” system of 1,840 shared e-bikes, which was a runaway success (46,000 subscribers and 55,000 paying users). However, ten months later, in October, a series of acts of theft of essential bicycle parts rendered 500 shared bikes unusable. In June, during riots, 200 bikes had already been destroyed. In total, this means 700 fewer bikes, or 38% of the fleet. “Le Vélo took legal action. Today, thanks to ongoing collaboration with Qucit and the quality of the work carried out by the agents operating the system, the system is a huge success. The Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis has therefore decided to add further bikes to the system from January 1, 2025, while introducing gradual account checks and penalties to prevent bike abandonment or theft.
In April 2024, Keolis Bordeaux Métropole Mobilités renewed its entire “Vélo” shared bike system, formerly “Vcub” in reference to the Bordeaux urban community (CUB). Barely three months after the launch of the new fleet of 2,200 electric bicycles and in all, 166 bikes were reported destroyed and over 300 damaged, some of which were 300 stolen bikes that had not been recovered. Since then, Cykleo's operational team has been actively working to prevent theft by sending agents into the field to recover “lost” bikes using GPS tracking. It's a real win-win situation, because today, Le Vélo is more and more appreciated by its users, locals and tourists alike, who see it as a perfectly adapted means of locomotion for getting around our beautiful city of Bordeaux.
In October 2024, in Philadelphia (USA), the operator of the “Indego Bikeshare” bike-sharing system had to withdraw 5 shared bike stations following a wave of unprecedented thefts and damage to bikes (particularly electric ones) in certain parts of the city, notably in southwest Philadelphia. The operator works every day to prevent such damage by establishing a real dialogue with the residents of each community. A real success story, as Indigo is now one of the leading self-service bicycle systems in the United States.
The list of examples is long, and extends not only to France and the United States, but to the whole world. Since the emergence of bike-sharing systems, vandalism has been rampant everywhere: bikes set on fire in San Francisco (USA) in 2017; bikes thrown down the drain in Singapore the same year; and repeated thefts of “Ecobici” bikes in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 2020, which led to the closure of 20 stations and 400 bikes in the Argentine capital.
© Vladimir Wang
Unfortunately, the consequences can be disastrous for cities and their bike-share operators. In addition to creating a bad image, vandalism entails numerous material, human and financial costs. These costs can sometimes lead to the temporary or permanent closure of an entire bike-sharing system.
At the end of November 2024, the 180-bike “Beryl” shared-use system in Worcester, UK, closed temporarily due to intensive vandalism, including setting fire to bikes or damaging the rear wheels of many bikes. The operator was forced to launch an investigation to identify those responsible.
In February 2023, the “ToBike” bike-sharing system had to close down permanently following a whole year of intensive vandalism. In 2022, 900 vandalized and/or stolen bikes were recorded by the operator in Turin (Italy), even though the city had invested nearly 1 million euros to renew the system, initially launched in 2013.
So, faced with these disastrous consequences, we can only wonder what the solutions are to this delinquency?
Adapting solutions to prevent vandalism
It all starts with local authorities. When it comes to implementing a bike-sharing system, cities can prevent vandalism right from the design stage. Indeed, criteria called service level agreements are decided by public authorities before the system is set up. A shared micromobility system operator will then commit to applying these service level agreements to guarantee the quality of the service provided.
To limit vandalism, these agreements may include :
choice of materials
the type of technology used
mandatory periodic inspection of stations to check their condition
removal of graffiti within 24 hours
removal of a vandalized bike from a station within 24 hours.
The aim of these measures is to keep the system clean and functional, to avoid a bad image that would increase the number of malicious acts against it. Some contracts even require regular traceability and verification of both stations and bicycles.
These criteria, once carefully chosen and included in the public contract, will enable operators responding to the contract to implement means (such as staffing stations or emitting an audible signal when a bike is incorrectly hung up) and actions (such as preventive maintenance or collecting broken or abandoned bikes) to achieve these service levels, on pain of sanctions if they fail to do so.
That's where we at Qucit come in. Thanks to our logistics optimization software based on predictive algorithms, we help bike-share operators prioritize their day-to-day tasks to guarantee optimal operational quality. But how do we help them deal with vandalism?
In the cities we work with, we have observed a number of problems caused by vandalism which we can help to solve. These problems vary according to the type of technology used, and the need for adaptability is obvious.
Indeed, when vandalism is concentrated in certain areas, there may be a shortage of bicycles in the field, in which case logistical optimization for rebalancing will be crucial. With overflowing fixed-station or free-floating systems, many bikes can be seen outside the stations, which poses problems in terms of public space management and bike recharging. As a result, many bikes are abandoned in the city, and the operator has to find them as quickly as possible to avoid theft and damage. Qucit helps to collect bikes within a given timeframe, depending on the agent's geographical position.
On this same task, we enable some of our customers to recover stolen or abandoned bikes in remote areas of the city. This is the case in Long Beach, for example, where we work with field officers to recover bicycles, sometimes buried in the sand.
With fixed-station technology, bikes can often be incorrectly hooked up, so we prioritize preventive maintenance tasks. These tasks enable our agents to get to the site quickly to hang up the bikes, as well as checking the condition of the stations and their bikes. In Lille, for example, we ensure that each station is visited at least once every 48 hours to check the condition of the stations and their bikes.
Finally, local authorities and their operators can also raise public awareness through advertising campaigns designed to enable users to identify with the public good.
Furthermore, in 2013 in Paris, then 2015 in Toulouse, in cooperation with JC Decaux, a “Tu casses, tu répares” (You break, you fix) penal reparation program was set up. Perpetrators of vandalism complete an internship in a maintenance workshop to repair damaged bikes. This measure has helped to raise awareness and prevent repeat offences.
Conclusion
Although vandalism is present throughout the world, it doesn't have to be inevitable. Many solutions are emerging, and everyone has a role to play. Local authorities, in charge of drafting the public contract, can insert service level agreements to prevent vandalism. The operator winning the contract will then put in place the resources and operations, optimized by Qucit, to achieve these objectives. End-users, made aware of vandalism, will be satisfied with the system put in place by their local authority.