Something’s afoot at Google HQ. At Google’s headquarters there are 1,100 Google Bikes also known as “Gbikes”. An estimated 250 of which are being stolen each week.  The Google Bikes are intended to help employees get around on campus quickly and elegantly.

Launched in ’07, Google created a $5M grant to help more cities become more bike-conscious and help the environment. Most notably Google’s home city of Mountain View and make it commuter friendly!

Yet people are stealing the Gbikes, not only that, they’re not even employees of Google! Furthermore the Gbikes aren’t cheap coming in at $300 each.

The bikes are simple, with a Google branding colour scheme, a basket and 1 gear. So they’re not top of the range, but as they cannot be purchased by the public and are exclusively for Google employees they’re highly sought after. Hence why they are being stolen so often, they’ll fetch a pretty penny online!

Google Bikes Saviours!

As a result of the constant theft, Google wish to crack down on the theft. Therefore to combat people stealing the Gbikes, the search engine giant have employed a team of 30 freelancers to get the bikes back. Helping crackdown on theft, Google are too testing GPS trackers and locks to help employees access bikes through their phones. Therefore, those who have Google’s bikes better think twice!

Which does make you think why, Google, one of the worlds most advanced tech companies. A company who produce amazing hardware such as the Google Pixel, Google Home and of course Google search. Didn’t put tracking software into the bikes as standard? $300 is a drop in the ocean for such a huge company, so why didn’t they put security measures in? No one likes to lose money at the end of the day. Money is money. Regardless if you have millions, trillions or hundreds. Plus the bikes are perks for their employees! Come on guys, stop stealing Gbikes!

Would you like to ride a Gbike? (Remember to give it back though!) Let us know by reaching out to us via our social channels! We are all over the social media space, so can contact us at either our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages! Our social handle is @howtokillanhour across all platforms.

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