The University of Washington and the Bike Index have joined forces to register and protect bikes for UW’s thousands of campus users.

Bike Index, the most widely used bike registration and recovery network in the U.S., allows cyclists to register bikes for free, along with photos and other identifying details. If a bike is stolen, the bike’s information is made available to Bike Index’s 370+ partners in law enforcement, cycling organizations, pawn shops and retail bike shops across the U.S. who use Bike Index to ID and recover stolen bikes every day.

“For us, the big sell was ease of use. Officers can get access to bike data for searches,” said Sue Carr, Strategic Initiatives and External Relations Manager for the UW Police Department. “In the Pacific Northwest [Bike Index has] a big and dedicated follower group. That’s an opportunity to leverage not only the registration aspect, but also to spread the word when a bike is stolen.”

“We’re elated to help UW protect bikes,” says Bryan Hance, Bike Index cofounder. “Bikes and are a huge part of the UW experience, and we know most bikes stolen from any campus eventually ‘trickle out’ into the surrounding community. Having a recovery network that reaches past campus borders is key – and that is where Bike Index excels.”

At UW, bikes are often stolen by someone outside the UW community and then sold, says Kendra Borzio, a crime analyst at the UW Police Department. Most bikes are stolen from outside bike racks during daylight hours, in public areas.

“On almost every campus, bike theft is often the most reported crime. It’s almost a rite of passage,” said Hance. “UWPD has really stepped up their efforts to fight bike theft on the UW campus, and we’re excited to help provide modern and effective tools for bike registration and identification.”

Bike Index’s UWPD registration site gives the UW community a quick, easy-to-use portal for registering bikes via any mobile device or browser. In the event of a theft, owners can use this same site to quickly alert UWPD about the bike theft and the bike’s identifying details, such as appearance and serial number.

The UWPD Bike Index page is now live and ready to accept student and faculty registrations. UWPD encourages all UW riders to register their bike and upload a photo of the bike. The process takes less than a minute.

About the Bike Index:

Bike Index is the nation’s largest and most successful bike registration and recovery network. With over 115,000 catalogued bikes, free, web-based tools designed to offer efficient registration, recovery, and anti-theft services, Bike Index has proven more effective than any service of its kind, aiding in over 3,600 confirmed bike recoveries to date.

Bike Index is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For more information on Bike Index and how to donate, please visit our About Page or Contact Us.

About UW:

The University of Washington is located in Seattle, WA.

One in four UW students has a bicycle, and about 20,000 trips are made to campus on bike each week, according to UW’s 2016 Transportation Survey, published in February of this year. It is estimated that many more ride, just less frequently.