Wellington woman recovers stolen e-bike in dramatic fashion

A Wellington woman posing as a buyer took her e-bike for a “test ride” and was chased by the alleged “seller” on a scooter as she rode toward the city’s central police station.

That’s according to Stuff which reports the woman, who it chose not to identify for her safety, had kept her cell phone on to police during her ride and that the scooter rider – who police later confirmed had a manslaughter conviction – tried to wrest the e-bike from her.

Wellington police believe more than 330 bikes have been reported stolen in the region in the past year, nearly two-thirds of the number of car thefts reported during the same period, Stuff says.

Stealing a bike can result in a similar seven-year imprisonment penalty as stealing a car but tracing stolen bikes back to owners is difficult because there’s no national bike registration system, according to police.

EVs and Beyond recently reported e-bike thefts have risen 115% this year and also covered plans to bring secure “Locky Dock” bike parking to the main centres.

Wellington Stolen Bikes Facebook page administrator Davide Conti​ told Stuff the huge popularity of e-bikes seems to be leading to increased thefts.

E-bike owners can put their bike serial numbers and photos on databases such as snap.org.nz or bikedatabase.co.nz to help police return recovered bikes to their owners.