Vandalism and thefts of Bee Bikes 'out of control' and leaders are cracking down

Vandalism and theft has led to hundreds of Bee Bikes across Manchester being out of action - with numbers plummeting below 200.

At the end of July 2023, there were over 550 missing bikes, over 700 in need of repair, and availability dropped below 200, a report stated. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has put in place a recovery strategy that has already seen the number of bikes increase back to 580 as of October.

Speaking at a recent scrutiny meeting at GMCA’s headquarters in Manchester, GM mayor Andy Burnham said that the issue got ‘out of control’ in spring this year.

READ MORE: "Horrible f****** woman": Foul-mouthed OAP made sick taunts to neighbour after coming home drunk from the pub... then is seen giving a cheery THUMBS UP outside court

READ MORE: Group of friends arrive at Turkey hotel at 1am and told to 'go away'

“The scheme hit difficulties in late spring,” he told the committee. “It was a victim of its own success as it was heavily used.

“There were a number of big events and the levels of damage were out of control. I don’t think we had the system in place or the focus to get those bikes back.

“We’ve still got a success story on our hands given the level of utilisation. This scheme has got to be integrated into it (the Bee Network) as a multimodal approach.

“I think we are in a stronger position than we were but there are significant ongoing issues to address. We know it works but the key is to bear down on the loss of bikes due to damage.”

A number of vandals and theives have already been prosecuted in the courts for their actions, the committee was told. In order to deter vandals and thieves, Penalty charges have also been increased under the recovery plan, so if someone using a bike does