Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 01/05) -Starting this summer, Yellowknife police will have a new weapon in the battle against bike thieves: a free ride.

A score of bright orange two-wheelers will placed in high traffic areas throughout the capital - available free of charge to anyone who needs a ride.

The program, which is scheduled to begin next month, is intended to deter bike bandits by offering them a legal alternative to theft.

"We find most people steal bikes because they want to travel from one place to another," said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Const. Kim Deniger, who created the program.

Officers from the Yellowknife detachment spent last Friday refurbishing the bikes. "It has probably been a few years since I last worked on one of these," said Const. Damon Werrell, with a laugh.

The bikes will be painted orange and placed in strategic areas from the downtown core to the west end, Deniger said.

Similar programs have met with mixed success throughout Europe and North America.

Portland, Oregon launched a free-ride initiative in 1994, becoming one of the first cities outside Europe to attempt the feat. While it opened to critical acclaim, its fleet of 350 bright yellow bicycles gradually succumbed to attrition and the program died.

Initiatives which charge a minimal fee, like those in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Helsinki, have been extremely successful, though cycling in those countries is far more entrenched than in North America.

Unlike larger centres, Deniger believes enforcing the program will be relatively simple in a city the size of Yellowknife.

"There are only so many places people can go," she said. "And it is hard to miss an orange bike."