Why police won't be collecting any more vandalised 'scan and go' bikes abandoned in Sheffield

Police in Sheffield have confirmed they won't be collecting any more vandalised Ofo bikes abandoned in Sheffield.
Bikes abandoned in SheffieldBikes abandoned in Sheffield
Bikes abandoned in Sheffield

Officers from the Sheffield South East Neighbourhood Policing Team have revealed that a number of bikes have been damaged and dumped in and around Sheffield.

Police said they spent a 'considerable amount of time' on Monday collecting the new bikes but have revealed this will not be happening again.

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A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "We won't be collecting any more bikes, as bike shepherding isn't in our job description (we've checked, it's definitely not there).

"If you come across one that is abandoned or damaged, please report it to Ofo UK and not the police.

For clarification: it's OK if they're abandoned or left in the street as they're GPS tracked by the owners.

"It's only if bikes have been damaged that Ofo needs to be updated.

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"If a bike has just been left somewhere, that is how the scheme works (although you would hope that they would be left somewhere sensible and not up a tree, for example)."

The dockless bike hire scheme launched in Sheffield earlier this month, with a fleet of 1,000 bikes.

Company 'ofo' has brought the bright yellow bikes to the city for people to hire for 50p per 30 minutes.

Ofo have said that any damage can be reported to them on social media or the number on the bike.

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Police had criticised a minority of people for 'spoiling' the facility for the majority of people by abusing the new facility.

Just two days after the scheme began operating in the city, one of the bikes was dumped in a tree on the Hunter's Bar roundabout.

Adam Rose, Operations Manager for Ofo in Sheffield, said: "We've had a very small number of reports about damaged bikes.

"These have been collected and will be repaired and put back on the street as soon as possible.

"We won't allow a tiny minority of people to ruin a scheme which Sheffield has taken to so quickly. Our bikes are in strong demand and the reception so far has been really positive."