Bicycles from community program in Worcester stolen, damaged

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Several bicycles have been damaged and stolen just weeks after Worcester’s new bike-share program began.

Residents have posted pictures on social media of bikes abandoned on the street with bent frames, tires removed and GPS-enabled smart locks ripped off.

China-based company Ofo deployed 400 bicycles in Worcester last month. Through the program, a rider must use an app to locate a nearby bike, scan a code to unlock it and pay $1 per hour to ride, later parking the bike in one of many allowed public spaces around the city. The bikes do not have docks or stations.

But Anthony Belsito, among others, told Boston 25 News he sees the bikes misused and damaged daily.

“You see the kids going off the little ramps with them. They smash them up, they rip the GPS units off them,” Belsito said. “It’s disheartening that they can’t do one thing nice for the city without people taking advantage of it.”

Ofo told Boston 25 News in a statement they “have seen great response and engagement” with the program in Worcester but are working with police to prevent vandalism and theft.

“While the benefit to the Worcester community far outweighs the isolated cases of misuse, ofo is aware of the situation and is actively working to improve it,” Ofo’s statement reads. “We have a crew on the ground doing patrols on an hourly basis who are responsible for organizing the bikes and collecting broken bikes based on reports that come in through the app or our customer service number.”

The company, which says it has bikes in 180 cities around the world, expects “a certain percentage of vandalism at the beginning of the service and factor this into our model.”

Ofo says it is working to improve what is meant to be a tamperproof bike.

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