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Recent thefts from the Silverdale park ‘n’ ride have highlighted the vulnerability of vehicles and bikes that are left there.
Auckland Transport (AT) monitors the carpark and bike area with CCTV.
In March, a university student returned to find his licence plates gone, and, adding insult to injury, a $200 fine on his windscreen for having no plates. Last month, AT advised him that he did not have to pay this fine.
A local cyclist, who secured his mountain bike with two chain locks, had it stolen from the park ‘n’ ride last month. He says AT’s CCTV footage showed people riding off with his bike, and another one.
Police say the number of such thefts reported to them are quite low – over the past three months there have been four in total, two in April and two in March.
There have also been some car thefts – three vehicles have been stolen from the Silverdale park ‘n’ ride and immediate area, in the past six months. Two of these occurred on the same day in November, and police caught two offenders for those thefts.
Waitemata North area commander Inspector Mark Fergus says that the real numbers could be higher, and he encourages people to report those incidents via www.police.govt.nz/105info.
“In that way, we are able to build a picture of what is occurring,” he says. “Unfortunately transport hubs can be targeted by thieves, but Police and Community Patrols regularly patrol the area, which may be why the numbers remain low.”
He says some of the items targeted are tools from the back of utes, and number plates, which can be used for petrol drive-offs.
“Obviously, the need to not have visible attractive items like handbags or laptops in cars remains essential.”
