Bus rack bike theft leaves cyclist fuming about no-locks policy

A local cyclist is warning others to keep a sharp eye out when they take their bikes on transit after his $1,000 bicycle was stolen off the front rack of a Vancouver bus.

When Chris Allcock loaded his bike on the yellow rack on the front of a bus last Sunday he tried to stay as close as possible to the front windows to keep an eye on it, but the bus was crowded and the driver told him several times to move to the back, he told CBC News.

Allcock complied, but when he reached his stop his bike was gone and when he asked the driver if he saw what happened, the the driver showed little concern, he said.

"I was upset and confused and I asked the bus driver what happened, where the bike got off, who stole the bike? He said he wasn't paying attention," said Allcock.

"He didn't really sound too upset about it, didn't apologize. Just said he wasn't paying attention and that the bike got off about eight blocks or eight stops ago," he said.

No locks allowed

Allcock said his bike was insured, but the next person might not be so lucky, and he thinks the Coast Mountain Bus Company's policy against locking bikes to bus racks should be changed.

"I'm sure, if this happened to me, it's happened to other people. It just seems ridiculous, I'm trying to help this city all I can and a company like TransLink is disinterested completely in my security and my possessions' security, so it's frustrating," he told CBC on Wednesday.

Coast Mountain Bus Company spokesman Derek Zabel said the theft was unfortunate, but there's little the company can do to prevent these kinds of thefts.

"It's a tough situation, no doubt, and I do have a lot of sympathy for the person that did have their bike stolen," said Zabel.

"There's a lot of people that do get on and off the bus at all times and the drivers have a lot to be aware of."

Victims of bike theft can register a claim with TransLink, but ultimately it's up to bus riders to be responsible for their property, he said.