To better serve the campus and assist with stolen bicycle recovery, the University of Iowa has partnered with Bike Index – a national registry of bicycles. The registry is a database that police departments and authorities can access to help identify and return bicycles to their owners. Students, faculty, and staff can begin registering bicycles on the university’s Bike Index webpage beginning Aug. 1, 2022. There is no cost to students, faculty, or staff to register a bicycle.

The university partnership is a collaboration of UI Parking and Transportation, UI Public Safety, and UI Hospitals & Clinics, Safety and Security. Since 1995, UI Parking and Transportation has offered a local registration for campus that UI Public Safety has used for bicycle identification and recovery. Persons who have previously registered their bicycle with the university and provided an email address will receive an email from Parking and Transportation with additional details. 

To date, Bike Index registrations have assisted with recovering almost 11,000 stolen bicycles across the nation. The university hopes that the wide-reaching registry will help resolve theft reports on campus. 

“The goal of this program is to potentially deter bike theft and put our officers in a better position to return stolen property when it is recovered,” says Associate Director and Chief of Police Lucy Wiederholt. “Having an easily accessible record of the make, model, and serial number of your bicycle makes it easier for you to report theft and prove ownership of your bicycle, and therefore easier for law enforcement to return it to you if it is located.” 

In addition to assisting with bicycle recovery, the service offers many benefits to users including features like uploading photos of their bicycle or marking a bicycle as lost or stolen. Creating an account and registering a bicycle is quick and easy. Bicycle owners can either have the registration decal mailed to them after creating their account or pick up from one of the following locations: 

• Parking and Transportation Department, West Campus Transportation Center 

• Department of Public Safety, University Capitol Centre 

• UI Hospitals & Clinics - Safety and Security, Roy Carver Pavilion lower level 

On university websites, cyclists can also learn about steps they can take to prevent bike theft and read more about university bicycle registration and regulations.