Man caught on camera destroying Worcester rental bike

WORCESTER, Mass. — A man was captured on cell phone video damaging a rental bike with a hammer outside a Worcester apartment complex, apparently trying to rip off the GPS-enabled smart lock to steal the bike.

Jeanine Daley, who recorded the video from her apartment window, watched the man destroy the yellow bicycle that is part of a bike-share program in Worcester.

"I saw him banging and banging, and he wasn't even phased by me pulling the blind up .And I pulled it back down and went and ran and grabbed my phone and stuck my phone through blind and videoed him for five minutes. And he did it even more," Daley said. "He was getting more and more violent, determined, like pulling it with the back side of the hammer, determined until he got that off and he did."

The incident is hardly the first of its kind. Boston 25 News obtained several pictures last fall of the yellow bikes, owned by China-based company, Ofo, bent, broken and trashed. Many of them had their GPS locked ripped off.

"I just feel like something should be done, so people can actually use those bikes for good," said Daley, who said she emailed the video and information to Worcester police.

Ofo told Boston 25 News it is working on the problem, and that the program is successful in Worcester despite the issue.

The company said the following in a statement:

"While we can't prevent every instance of vandalism, we can control how we respond to the issue, and have the technology and teams in place to deal with it quickly. Every Ofo city has a professionally trained local operations team that oversees the bike fleets, ensuring they're properly parked, clear of right of ways, and in a safe, working condition. We work hard to ensure our bikes are built sturdier to help minimize vandalism. If a bike hasn't moved after 24 hours, that typically means something is wrong – either the bike is broken or in a bad location. And Ofo's operations team will either pick up the bike for repair or move it to a better location."

A Worcester police spokesman said damaged and stolen bikes is not a big issue the department is dealing with this winter.

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