Basel bike thieves’ stronghold

class=”sc-3778e872-0 cKDKQr”>

With the end of winter, the Swiss take their bikes out of their cellars and sheds. This attracts bike thieves. Insurance group Axa proves theft with numbers. In April, generally 50 percent more bike thefts are recorded than in February. It is 100 percent higher in summer.

While these statistics have remained unchanged over the years, the latest damage statistics also reveal something alarming: the total number of stolen bikes increased sharply in 2022. Across Switzerland, 8,900 insured bicycles were stolen from Axa. That’s a fifth more than in the previous year, every 84th bike was stolen. Since 2015, the theft rate has never been as high as in 2022.

Lots of cross-border theft

This did not surprise Stefan Müller, head of property damage insurance at Axa: “We know of organized gangs that take bikes abroad.” During the pandemic, this was less possible due to tighter border controls.

This explains why the city of Basel, close to the border, was hit hardest. There, 3.1 percent of all insured bikes, one out of every 33 bikes, were stolen last year. This is the highest value in Switzerland! Bern (2.3 percent) and Biel (2.2 percent) follow, although they are not close to the border. Ticino had the fewest stolen bikes (0.4 percent of all bikes), followed by Glarus (0.4) and Valais (0.5).

“We can’t finally explain the regional differences,” says Müller. However, the urban-rural divide is clear: eight of Switzerland’s ten largest cities have higher rates of bicycle theft than the Swiss average. Only Lugano (0.1 percent) and Lausanne (0.9 percent) have values ​​below the average.

By the way, it’s not just about bicycles: Basel is also the only leader when it comes to theft, with a rate five times higher than in Lugano, according to “SRF”.

More and more expensive bikes were stolen

The increase in the number of stolen bicycles in general can also be associated with the pandemic. During this time, the bicycle market in Switzerland exploded. As a result, the potential for theft is significantly greater.

The rise of e-bikes in the bicycle market is also affecting the average amount of damage. Axa paid around 18 million francs for stolen bikes last year – 2,000 francs per case. Just five years ago, the average damage was 1,250 francs, thus almost 40 percent lower.

Source :Blick