Merchant Sets Up 'Bicycle Hotline' To Halt Thefts

A Cambridge bicycle dealer has started a citywide stolen bicycle recovery service which, he hopes, will cut into the brisk business his "biggest competitors"--theft rings trafficking in used-bike sales--are enjoying in the Boston area.

Joel M. Weingarten, 24-year-old manager of the Bicycle Workshop in Central Square, said yesterday his newly-created "Bicycle Hotline"--354-7555--will be the only central source of stolen bicycle information in the Boston/Cambridge area.

The Bicycle Hotline will pool past theft records from local police departments and future "vital statistics" from theft victims, he said. The Bicycle Workshop will then send out a weekly computerized list of serial numbers, descriptions and places of purchase to local bike shops.

"Any bicycle dealer or individual intending to buy a used bicycle can check with the hotline to make certain it isn't stolen," Weingarten said. "Right now, each separate police department or precinct keeps only its own bicycle theft reports, but does not circulate them."

Bike owners wishing to report their bicycles with the hotline service must know their serial numbers, he said.

"If a suspicious-looking bike comes in for repair or resale, the hotline will provide the shop owner with the proof necessary to nab the thief, and if the owner has his bill of sale, the bike will be returned," he said.

Weingarten said he will ask local bicycle dealers to keep a log of serial numbers on new bikes sold. The Bicycle Workshop will also imprint free of charge serial numbers on bicycles for owners who can present proof of purchase, he said.