The Head of Government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, has promised to extend the Ecobici Public Transportation System to all 16 municipalities of the capital to improve mobility in the outskirts of the Valley of Mexico. However, this task could pose a challenge for the Mobility Secretariat (Semovi) due to the increase in bicycle thefts that has been recorded in recent years.
Data obtained through transparency requests reveals that Ecobici bicycle thefts have significantly increased in recent years, particularly between 2022 and 2024. During this period, 1,867 Ecobici bicycles were reported stolen, representing 88% of all bicycles stolen between 2018 and 2024, according to information from the Mobility Secretariat.
From the closure of the red bicycle phase of the Ecobici System in October 2022 until the introduction of black bicycles in August 2022, 253 bicycles were stolen. However, since then, 1,867 thefts have been recorded, of which 840 have been recovered. Although the expansion of Ecobici to all 16 municipalities is an important proposal to improve mobility, there are problematic areas in Mexico City that could affect the operation of public bicycles.
The scooter company 'Grin', for example, suspended its operations in 2019 due to an increase in thefts in the central area of the Valley of Mexico. Currently, Ecobici has 9,308 bicycles distributed across 687 bike stations in six municipalities, but expansion of the service to all areas is expected, including those considered to have high perceptions of insecurity according to Inegi.
The extension of Ecobici poses a security challenge for the capital government, considering the cases of bicycle thefts. Despite the fact that in many cases thefts are not reported, the figures from the Attorney General's Office report 1,178 investigative files for bicycle thefts in the first nine months of 2024. The most common places for these thefts include bike parking, shopping malls, and public streets, sometimes with violence.
