Bicycles, e-bikes and fat bikes are regularly stolen from the NS’s guarded bicycle shed at the station in Hoogeveen. The fat bike of Joyce Willems-Kats’ 16-year-old daughter, among other things, was stolen. “She called me on Sunday crying,” she says.
The thousand-euro fat bike was suddenly gone. “I think he is joking, but no. We pay 65 euros for an annual subscription to be able to park there safely. This hurts you as a mother and father.”
Her daughter is not the only one who has become a victim. “We see that bicycle theft is an increasing social problem. Unfortunately, it is not the case that more bicycles are stolen only in Hoogeveen,” reports a spokesperson for the NS.
There are no specific figures on the number of thefts. The police say it is not possible for them to provide an overview.
The guarded bicycle shed is in the same building where Ronnie Bouwmeester and his Rijwielshop Hoogeveen are located. He rents the front part from the NS, the parking facility itself belongs to the NS. He says he is sometimes looked at with crooked faces. “Then they think that I am the manager and therefore have to do something about the thefts. But I am not the manager. I can’t do anything about it.”
Bouwmeester says that bicycles have been stolen for a few years. “But it’s getting worse. Now there’s a kind of fat bike craze. Then they just take a few fat bikes in one night.”
The thefts all happen at night, when the bicycle shop is closed. Then there is no one in the garage to check. There are cameras. Willems-Kats managed to obtain video images of the theft. “They jump over the fence like monkeys. And then you hear a grinder.” She reported the theft and reported it to the NS. But neither the police nor the transport company that owns the storage facility were able to help her.
If a bicycle is stolen from an NS garage, compensation can be paid up to 1,000 euros. This requires proof of purchase of the bicycle, as well as the bicycle key and proof of a report to the police. She does not yet know whether Willems-Kats is entitled to compensation from the NS. However, there must be a new fat bike. “My daughter studies in Meppel and has to cycle to the station. Should I buy an old bicycle because the guarded parking is not safe?” she wonders.
“I don’t think that fat bike will come back again, but I do hope that something will be done about safety. That the NS will take action. Why not put a guard down from six o’clock in the evening? That is safer anyway, because what if my daughter enters that parking facility alone in the evening and she encounters a group of four or five men standing there with a grinder. That is simply not safe.”
Ronnie Bouwmeester calls for the building to be completely locked after a certain time. “It used to be closed after nine, ten or eleven o’clock at night.” He also wants the NS and the police to intervene. “Now you have to mop with the tap open. Then you have to turn off the tap.”
The police refer to the NS for measures. “The storage facility does not fall under our management, so it is not up to us to say anything about any measures there. That is therefore up to the manager of the guarded storage facility.”
The NS does not say anything about specific measures in Hoogeveen, but points to tests in the country to combat theft. “In Roosendaal we are testing whether raised access gates reduce the number of stolen bicycles,” a spokesperson said. “In addition, there are currently confrontation monitors at three stations. People see themselves on this monitor (such as at the self-checkout at Jumbo, for example). These tests are still ongoing and we do not have any results yet.”