crime spree Koregaon Pune Municipal Corporation Weeks after reports filtered in of bicycles under the civic body’s sharing scheme being stolen and damaged, affiliated vendors of these bikes are now claiming that the number of these vandalism cases has substantially reduced.The reasons they attribute to this positive development include stricter police action and awareness drives that have been conducted across the city areas in the wake of the“Vandalism of shared bicycles has come down for almost three months now. A damaged bicycle comes in for repair once in two days — this is against earlier figures of at least a dozen defaced bicycles coming to the workshop regularly,” said Adarsh Kedari, city head of Mobike.He acknowledged that action taken by the police has definitely helped improve the situation. “Cops lodged multiple cases of theft and also made some arrests in a few incidents. This worked to create an impact, after which there has been a steady drop in major vandalism cases,” he said, adding that problem areas in the outskirts, including Manjri, Bhimaand Wagholi, have also witnessed a drop in cycle thefts and vandalism.Vendor Yulu bikes reiterated the sentiment. “We hardly get a bicycle or two in a week for repair. It appears people have started realising that such acts are unfruitful,” said Yulu business head Ritesh Rathore, further pointing out that vandalism may also have been more initially because users were still adjusting to the concept, and perhaps trying different things to keep possession of the vehicles. “However, they have probably realised that it is not possible,” he said.According to Rathore, this spate of vandalism has also been a learning phase for vendors signed up with the(PMC), like his company. “Previously, it was difficult for the administration and companies to deal with such situations. However, technology has enabled us to get real-time data that helps tackle such cases, as well as shine a focus on areas that are more prone to vandalism,” he said. Rathore also claimed that they had not come across any intention of theft in the damaged bicycles that came to them.“We could say that users have overcome the adjustment stage and are slowly becoming used to the public bike sharing system,” said the Yulu official, highlighting that the act of taking people’s representatives, civic officials and the general public into confidence to create awareness against vandalism seems to be finally bearing fruit.PMC cycle department head Narendra Salunke agreed. “A recent report in this regard has been received from vendors, informing that vandalism has dropped by up to 90 per cent. Existing cases of vandalism being reported could be categorised as minor incidents now. Credit can be given to citizens and users who have been supportive and responsible for this public service,” he said.Another positive noted by the official is that the usage of these shared bicycles has also increased, being harnessed in ‘cyclathon’ events and also initiative undertaken by education institutes to promote eco-friendly transport on campus. “Such moves help develop a positive culture towards cycling. It truly signals a change in the mindset of Pune,” Salunke said.

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