New registry partnership shows 'very promising' results recovering stolen bikes, City of Winnipeg says

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 8:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The City of Winnipeg says a caller motorcycle registry concern has led to much stolen bikes getting recovered.

Last year, the metropolis partnered with the app 529 Garage, a escaped online registry that spans the country.

The metropolis launched the caller registry strategy successful April past year. By the extremity of December, much than 6,300 radical had registered.

"The numbers are decidedly indicating that we're trending successful the close direction," Terry Cormier, the city's licensing co-ordinator, said Thursday.

Last year, 681 bikes were recovered, compared to 572 successful 2023 — an summation of 19 per cent, the metropolis says.

Of the bikes recovered past year, a full of 105 were returned to their owners. 

Cormier called the fig of bikes recovered and returned "very promising," but added helium would similar to spot much uptake from radical registering their bikes.

Under the caller system, users tin registry their bikes by downloading the 529 Garage app and uploading their motorcycle details and interaction information.

Owners tin get an alert if their motorcycle is stolen, and hunt a database to find retired whether a motorcycle they're considering buying is stolen.

Charles Feaver, the seat of the motorcycle theft prevention committee with the advocacy radical Bike Winnipeg, agreed the caller registry has had a affirmative impact.

"Now, the instrumentality is getting radical to bash the homework of registering their bikes, and that's going slowly," Feaver said.

He would besides similar to see the metropolis put successful theft prevention, similar unafraid motorcycle parking downtown.

"So a spot wherever if you're going downtown, you permission your motorcycle there. You mightiness wage a subordinate oregon two, but you cognize it'll beryllium determination erstwhile you travel back. Rather similar our motorcycle valet astatine events," helium said.

The city's annual auction for recovered but unclaimed bikes is underway now and runs until May 1.