Someone has been vandalizing Mobi bikes in an East Vancouver neighbourhood (PHOTOS)
A plea urging whoever is responsible for deflating the Mobi bike tires at one East Vancouver spot isn’t sitting well with at least one motorist.
An anonymous local put up a pair of notes at a Mobi bike station near Commercial Street and 20th Avenue, saying they’ve visited the station twice “to find all the bike tires flat.”
“Please stop!” the person begs. “I use the bike share to get to work.”
Under one of the notes, another neighbour wrote, “It has happened to me many times.”
Photos of these letters have been shared on Reddit and Twitter and sparked plenty of discussions.
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One Redditor suggests, “Time to add security cameras to the Mobi stations, I guess.”
However, things seemed to have heated up when another note was taped on top of the appeal by a disgruntled neighbour.
“Too bad, so sad,” the note reads. “Us motorists want our parking spots back, b****!”
Someone's been repeatedly deflating all the bike tires at the Mobi station at Commercial & 20th.
Here's a conversation between a neighbour who relies on these bikes to get to work, and the (presumed) tire deflator. pic.twitter.com/keEr6Gnyjv
— Mihai Cirstea (@Mihai_Cirstea_) February 16, 2023
The note goes on to list other options folks who depend on bike shares can use, like owning a car or bicycle, walking, taking transit or joining EVO.
In response, Twitter user Mihai Cirstea pointed out that the “station in question” takes up nearly two to three parking spots, allowing 20 bikes to park.
“We’ve given drivers the expectation that they deserve free parking on public land for their private vehicles, and this is one result,” Cirstea wrote.
The station in question. It takes up 2-3 parking spots to make room for 20 bikes. We’ve given drivers the expectation that they deserve free parking on public land for their private vehicles and this is one result. Photo credit to @julian_mentasti pic.twitter.com/9K0ktSf7qx
— Mihai Cirstea (@Mihai_Cirstea_) February 16, 2023
Reddit user glister said they live in the area and use the bikes as part of their commute, and they called this incident “absolutely infuriating.”
Despite being advised that parking for motorists has improved in the last decade, they said, “more access to bikes like this only lessens the need for people to have vehicles, which opens up parking!”
Another Redditor, 604inToronto, added, “Just wait until this person realizes that additional car ownership will mean less parking spots.”
Many others pointed out that the motorist’s response was misleading since more vehicles would lead to result in more congestion for the driver themselves.
“This is a very common blind spot for drivers. Every cyclist represents less congestion and more parking for cars,” OplopanaxHorridus wrote.
“What a moron. Some parts of Vancouver, mostly around downtown, are not only very accessible via bike; sometimes, it’s just as fast or faster to use a bike at certain times of the day compared to pretty much any other mode of transport. Let people bike,” lhsonic said.
According to a spokesperson for the City of Vancouver, it and Mobi are aware of the continued vandalism at the East Vancouver station.
“We’ve confirmed with Mobi that the vandalized bikes have been collected for repair, and a police report has been filed with the VPD,” an email response reads.
Mobi told Daily Hive that the vandalized bikes have been removed for repairs.
Residents who find a vandalized bike or station can report it to Mobi by calling 778-655-1800 or emailing [email protected].
The City also encourages folks to report repeated vandalism to the VPD.
With files from Amir Ali and Claire Fenton.
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