Trends in Bicycle Thefts — Boulder
Boulder, Colorado, has earned recognition for its thriving bicycle community, consistently ranking among the top biking cities on various platforms. The diverse biking community in Boulder encompasses individuals from various backgrounds, riding a spectrum of bicycles that range in value, showcasing the city’s commitment to cycling. It is intriguing to note that within this community, where bicycles may range from affordable to high-end models costing thousands of dollars, bike theft becomes an inevitable concern. The City of Boulder Open Data website provides valuable datasets for public access, including comprehensive information on bike theft spanning the years 2020 to 2023. Despite not being a part of the Boulder bicycle community myself, I found this dataset to be both pertinent and compelling for several reasons.
As a student at the University of Colorado, Boulder since 2017, I have seen a lot change over the past few years. One thing that I found particularly interesting was the number of bicycles on campus. I remember in my earlier years of attending university there were not only a lot of people riding bikes to class, but almost every bicycle rack was overcrowded and filled. Bike theft was no stranger back then and we were often reminded how frequently it happens and what we can do to prevent it from happening. Fast forward to a few years, things started looking a little different on campus and it wasn’t just the new buildings and the remodeling of the old ones.
In around June 2020, CU students were granted free access to BCycle, which is a bike share so long as they kept their trips within 60 minutes each time. With this partnership with BCycle, although having a personal bike could prove supplemental, it did not seem necessary for those who just needed it to go back and forth from classes. With the implementation of Bcycle stations all over campus, I began to notice there weren’t as many personal bikes and I actually saw students using the Bcycle. This led me to wonder if bicycle theft has decreased since 2020 to now since the implementation of BCycle on campus.
When looking through the stolen bike data that I had retrieved from the City of Boulder Open Data website I noticed that they also had data on bikes that had been recovered. The data was also separated into different districts as well. However, the University does not fall into any of the districts, it is free from any stolen bike data. I refined and extracted the data to see the number of stolen bikes and the number of recovered bikes for each district for both 2020 and 2023. Right away, there was a clear difference between the number of stolen bikes in 2020 versus the number of stolen bikes in 2023.
In the images above, you can see the differences of stolen bikes and recovered bikes for the two years. The number of stolen bikes in 2020 was 1986 and the number of recovered bikes was 166 leaving 1820 still stolen that year. The most popular district for theft this year was District 4 which is east of campus or south central Boulder. The number of stolen bikes in 2023 was 818 and the number of recovered bikes was 64 leaving 754 bikes still stolen that year. The most popular district for theft this year was District 2 which would be the 29th street area.
After looking into the stolen and recovered bikes for each year I looked into the time series of theft over the years to get a better understanding of whether or not the bike theft in Boulder was actually decreasing or if 2023 just happened to be a special case. After refining the data once again, I discovered that the number of stolen bikes was in fact decreasing as time went on. There were some obvious fluctuations with how the school year goes, but overall the number of bike thefts has been seen to be decreasing.
In the images above, there is a visualization of the number of thefts from 2020, 2022, and 2023 with a decrease in the number of thefts over the past three years. There is also a close up for the year 2020 and 2023. For the time series in the year 2020 there is a more natural flow with the school year (also we must keep the pandemic lockdown in mind) with an overwhelming number of thefts in comparison to 2022 and 2023. Regardless, the number of theft continues to wither as seen in the 2023 time series with almost no alignment to academic schedule. This led me to wonder whether that majority of bike thefts in Boulder were those of students and now that not as many students that have the need to own bikes, there is a causal relationship between the decreasing number of bike thefts and the implementation of Bcycle.
After this discovery, I thought it would be interesting to use a heat map to show which districts were the ‘hotspots’ for theft between 2020 and 2023. As mentioned previously, the districts in which the most bike thefts occurred were different for each year. Personally, I feel like for the year 2020 District 4 happened to be the most popular because it is on the east side of campus and students from that side of boulder would find it most beneficial to own a bike to get to school in comparison to those who live on the hill, where the commute is much simpler and faster. As for 2023, I think the district changed and began to move north, I imagine simply because of the lack of bikes that are now in the university area with the expectation of those who are a part of the biking community not through necessity, but through choice.
In conclusion, the exploration of bike theft data in Boulder, Colorado, from 2020 to 2023 has revealed intriguing insights into the dynamics of bicycle incidents, especially in a city renowned for its vibrant cycling community. As a student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the evolving landscape of bicycle usage on campus has been a noticeable aspect of the changing university environment.
The introduction of BCycle, in June 2020 through partnership with the university, has had a discernible impact on the campus cycling culture. The accessibility of shared bikes provided a convenient alternative to personal ownership, influencing the prevalence of personal bicycles on campus. The shift towards bike sharing raises questions about the correlation between this change and the occurrence of bicycle thefts. Exploring the stolen bike data, it became evident that the number of stolen bikes in 2020 significantly surpassed that of 2023. This shift may be attributed, in part, to the increased availability of BCycle options, potentially mitigating the need for personal bikes.
Analyzing the data further, the breakdown of stolen and recovered bikes in different districts revealed interesting patterns. In 2020, District 4, situated to the east of campus and south-central Boulder, experienced a higher incidence of bike theft. Conversely, in 2023, District 2, encompassing the 29th street area, emerged as the new ‘hotspot’ for bike thefts. These variations underscore the dynamic nature of bike theft trends and suggest that factors such as geographical location and changes in community behavior play a role in the shifting patterns of incidents.
Reviewing the time series of bike thefts over the years provided a comprehensive view of the evolving scenario. Despite fluctuations that aligned with the academic calendar, a noticeable decrease in the overall number of bike thefts was observed. The comparison of 2020, a year marked by a more natural academic flow and pandemic-related lockdowns, with 2023 showed a consistent decline in thefts. This trend raises intriguing questions about the demographics of bike theft victims and the potential influence of the BCycle program in reducing incidents.
The use of a heat map proved effective in visualizing the ‘hotspots’ for bike theft in different districts between 2020 and 2023. District 4, likely influenced by its proximity to campus and student population, was prominent in 2020. However, by 2023, the hotspot had shifted to District 2, possibly indicating changes in biking patterns and ownership preferences. This shift could be associated with the decreasing necessity for personal bikes among students, aligning with the implementation of the BCycle program.
In summary, the exploration of bike theft data in Boulder has unveiled a narrative of changing dynamics influenced by factors such as bike-sharing initiatives, geographic considerations, and shifting community preferences. The observed decline in bike thefts over the years, coupled with changing hotspots and the rise of bike-sharing, suggests a complex interplay of factors shaping the bicycle landscape in Boulder. As the city continues to evolve, ongoing monitoring and analysis of such data will contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between community initiatives, urban dynamics, and bicycle-related incidents.
