The Bike Index is happy to announce our newest partner - Stolen Bikes NOLA!

Stolen Bikes NOLA - a nonprofit organization committed to bike protection in beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana - is the latest in a growing list of partners using Bike Index to combat bike theft. As part of their partnership, Stolen Bikes Nola will use the Bike Index to register and protect bikes for the cyclists of New Orleans.

"With a population over 350,000, New Orleans is host to around 10 million tourists per year. Its no surprise with these numbers that a substantial percentage of the local population uses bicycles as their primary mode of transportation," said Tom Schneider of Stolen Bikes Nola. "Bikes here are not just entertainment or exercise, they are part of survival formula for the service and entertainment industry."

Over 250 existing Bike Index partners - cities, universities, police departments, cycling organizations, and bike shops - already use Bike Index's data to protect bikes across the U.S. With over 63,000 bikes on file and over 2,700 stolen bike recoveries, Bike Index is the largest and most successful bike registration system in the country.

According to Bryan Hance of the Bike Index, the two organizations share a lot of common history.

"Much like the Bike Index, Stolen Bikes NOLA has been successful in using social media and uniting local resources to fight bike theft," says Hance. "We're excited to team up with Stolen Bikes NOLA because they're making a lot of progress, very fast - they're really pushing back against bike thieves in their city. We're excited to help Stolen Bikes NOLA because we have seen the benefits when a community starts using Bike Index – more bikes get protected, more stolen bikes get found, and more bike thieves get arrested."

Stolen Bikes NOLA - which grew from a Facebook group into a nonprofit effort with high profile recoveries - has emerged as a hub for the cycling community's anti-theft efforts. Their members coordinate stolen bike sightings, bike thief tracking, bike recoveries, and are working to coordinate efforts with local law enforcement and bike shops. Bike Index brings free registration and search to this mix, along with the brand new @stolenbikesnola twitter feed - and Bike Index's long history of combating the online sale of stolen bikes.

According to Schneider, New Orleans is experiencing a spike in bike theft, and limited police resources.

"Right now, bike shops in New Orleans are required to spend time accommodating a bicycle registration system that simply doesn’t work. And NOPD estimates their force has a shortage of over 700 officers - so I feel like the community can step in and help clean up the bike theft problem," he said.

Bike Index also notes that Stolen Bikes NOLA is responsible for one of the more fantastic headlines of 2015 - the much-forwarded "Ex-Bounty Hunter Uses Skills to Help Capture Bike Thief in Wig Disguise"

About Stolen Bikes Nola

Stolen Bikes NOLA is an organization committed to the recovery of stolen bikes in New Orleans, LA. The Stolen Bikes NOLA members also try to provide a replacement bikes to bike theft victims, and are committed to working with local government, NOPD, neighborhood organizations, residents, schools & colleges to protect bikes in and around 'The Big Easy'. Contact stolenbikesnola@gmail.com for more information.

About Bike Index

Bike Index - the largest open source, community driven bike registry in the world - works with hundreds of partners in cities, universities, police departments, cycling organizations, and bike shops to combat bike theft. By combining free bike registration, stolen bike listings, and an advanced stolen bike search engine, Bike Index has registered over 63,000 bikes and recovered over 2,700 stolen bikes. Bike Index's stolen bike recovery stories are a popular monthly read for thousands of bike theft victims and cyclists. Contact bryan@Bike Index.org for more information.