The buying and selling of stolen bikes in Montreal is booming

In an article published on CBC’s website, Radio-Canada’s Enquête program found that the stolen bicycle market in Montreal is booming. It is estimated that there are 20,000 bikes stolen annually in Montreal, however, most are not formally reported to the police. It is estimated that one out of every two cyclists who own a bicycle in Montreal have had a bike stolen at least once.

A number of unreported bicycles are recovered and end up in municipal auctions. There are groups who buy these bicycles legally for a very low price and re-sell them. This grey area seems a little unjust; however, it is perfectly legitimate given that in most cases no one is really searching for the bikes, if they are in fact stolen.

There are other shady auctions occurring at homeless shelters and in some parks from time to time as well. Given the frequency and number of used bikes sold across Montreal, it is clear that there is a booming economy. It’s almost impossible to track given the somewhat under-enforced bylaw that requires bicycle retailers to keep a registry of all the bikes they have sold. In fact, most retailers aren’t even aware of the bylaw’s existence.