Status: Complete
Check That Bike, run by John Moss, has developed an innovative open data service to help cyclists check whether a bike is stolen. Using the unique frame number of the bike and with the aid of a smartphone, cyclists are able to make a better decision about buying a second hand bike at the time they’re actually buying it.
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Check That Bike! – allows people wanting to buy a second-hand bike to check whether it has been previously stolen.
John’s winning idea will hopefully incentivise cyclists to report thefts in the first instance as well as help the police to return stolen bikes. Around half a million bikes are stolen in the UK every year, with only a tiny number recovered and returned to the owner. These thefts cost cyclists (an estimated £140 million a year) as well as meaning that they are more likely to give up cycling or cycle less often.
Our first open data challenge called for products and services using open data which would:
