News / cycling
Temple Meads named UK’s fourth worst station for bike thefts
Rows of stripped-back bicycles with missing lights, wheels and panniers are a familiar sight for those passing through Bristol Temple Meads.
It therefore will come as little surprise to most cyclists in the city that the railway station has been named as one of the UK’s worst for bike theft.
New figures from Direct Line insurance company, who surveyed cyclists and submitted a Freedom of Information request to the British Transport Police, have found that 179 bikes were stolen from the railway station in 2022.
is needed now More than ever
The station is fourth in the list of the country’s worst stations to leave a cycle, behind St Albans City, Cambridge North and Woking railway stations.
Bristol Temple Meads has been named as one of the UK’s worst stations for bike theft
The data covers railways, London Underground, the Midland Metro tram system, Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and Emirates AirLine.
The number of reported bike thefts at these locations is up 39 per cent from 4,999 in 2021 to 6,956 in 2022, with 14,110 bikes stolen from train stations across the UK since 2021.
West of England metro mayor Dan Norris called the issue an “endemic” that is “blighting our high streets and our communities”.
Cyclists who need to report their bike has been stolen at a railway station can contact the British Transport Police on 101.
For more information about upcoming bike-marking events, visit www.facebook.com/aspolicebristol
All photos: Betty Woolerton
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