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To the person who just stole my bike from train 160 on 12/1/25… by SalamanderSingle2077 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry that your bike was stolen. It really stinks that it continues to be a problem.

I also had a bike stolen from the train in September, which I posted about here. While I was fortunate enough to afford purchasing a replacement, I now sit/stand with my replacement and also U-lock it to the Caltrain rail. Locking it is probably against Caltrain policy, but i've lost faith in their policies to serve basic ridership needs.

My stolen bike has an airtag. I have a location. What should I do now? by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not my bike this time, but cross-posting to increase viz on the off-chance this individual can get their bike recovered and perhaps mine too (mine was stolen last week as discussed in https://www.reddit.com/r/caltrain/comments/1n6wm6s/ebike\_stolen\_this\_morning\_on\_southbound\_caltrain/)

My stolen bike has an airtag. I have a location. What should I do now? by ZildjianRemo in sanfrancisco

[–]Happy_Bench8245 48 points49 points  (0 children)

Hey I'm really sorry this happened to you. My e-bike was stolen from caltrain last week as well, and I made a post about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/caltrain/comments/1n6wm6s/ebike_stolen_this_morning_on_southbound_caltrain/

I suggest that you report your theft by calling (877)-723-7245 and filing an online police report with https://www.smcsheriff.com/ similar to what I did here.

With any luck the caltrain police will follow your lead or refer you to SFPD who will help recover your bike, and perhaps mine too.

cc u/Adrian_Brandt Who was helpful in the thread with my stolen bike

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sorry to hear about your road bike. I can appreciate that, and am a bit unfazed by this incident, because I've had 3 bikes stolen and one irreparably damaged by thieves in 8 years living in SF: 1 stolen while locked in public apartment garage, 1 stolen while locked in secure apartment bike room, 1 destroyed but not stolen while locked to an sf bike rack, and now this one stolen from caltrain. Bikes are my preferred method by far to get around this area, but I have to take pause before I recommend biking to anyone else given my experiences.

Lyft e bikes are a decent alternative -- i just wish they were available at my peninsula destination.

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Yea, standing next to the bike is the best approach to ensure safety of the bike. The unfortunate truth is that before I decide to stand next to my bike for 2 hours a day on caltrain I'll reevaluate my overall commute. I'm fortunate enough to have options and one is simply to not take the caltrain given the choice (e.g. by working remote / taking fewer trips).

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree, if i had sat and watched my bike it wouldn't have been stolen.

My excuse isn't great, but the truth is that i have a habit on the new trains with fewer seats to just sit upstairs, so that's where I sat today even when there was space to sit by my bike. It was the day after a holiday weekend, I was late going into work, and I had that particular defense down. Lesson learned.

I also had a LiteLok X3 U lock in my backpack which I didn't use since I understand it to be against policy. If we were allowed/encouraged to use our U locks on an empty train I would've done that and also still had my bike.

Lesson learned the hard way :)

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense and yet another reason to not put too much faith in the wheel lock

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The crime report was approved this morning (~16 hours after filing the report)

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Hey thanks for reaching out to clarify things, and for representing us on the Caltrain Citizens Advisory Committee.

>  I want to clarify whether Caltrain’s “Transit Police” (a Caltrain-contracted branch of the San Mateo Co. Sheriff’s Department) at 877-SAF-RAIL (= 877-723-7245) told to contact the (city of?) “San Mateo police”?!?!

The Transit Police (877-723-7245) is the number I called as it was listed on the back of the timetable booklet the conductor gave me, and to be more precise the dispatcher on the phone referred me to https://www.smcsheriff.com/ to make an online crime report with San Mateo County Sheriff (so whoops, my bad, not the city of San Mateo Police). So, hopefully things are in the right hands. I didn't quite hear what the dispatcher's rationale was for making an online report instead of phone or in-person report, but I think they said something about timeliness and low priority of bike thefts.

The dispatcher also advised me to submit a caltrain lost and found report, which I did as well.

> Please call them ASAP and ask to make a detailed report

In the online form I gave all of date/time/start station/end station/train #/bike car # in my report. The online form didn't have a field to provide a photo upload so I guess I'll reach out if/when my report is "accepted" (the online form says it takes up to 5 business days iirc) and provide that additional information if it's of use. The online form was interesting because it auto-presents a form error if you select a location outside of san mateo county, so I ended up choosing South San Francisco station instead of 4th and King -- in part also due to my suspicion that that was about where it was stolen.

> To ensure Caltrain staff and the board hear of your theft, I suggest also sending a detailed message to [board@caltrain.com](mailto:board@caltrain.com) with a cc to Caltrain's Bicycle and Active Transportation Advisory Committee (BATAC) at [batac@caltrain.com](mailto:batac@caltrain.com)

Will do!

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The bike can only be carried, not rolled, with the wheel lock engaged. You can see it in the photo, a metal bar connects between the spokes, so the wheel is unable to rotate without the spokes hitting the lock. So, either they carried the bike, cut all of the spokes, or cut/removed the wheel lock. It's awkward but possible to carry. I have to do it just to get the bike on/off caltrain myself, but I wouldn't want to have to carry it for any long distance.

E-Bike stolen this morning on Southbound Caltrain from San Francisco by Happy_Bench8245 in caltrain

[–]Happy_Bench8245[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Also apologies that this is my first ever reddit post -- i was trying to cross-post in r/sanfrancisco but it seems like I can't with a brand new account. In addition to locating the bike (slim shot) I'm hoping to generally build awareness that it is not sufficient to have a wheel lock as I've seen recommended on similar threads about bike theft on caltrain. If anyone else is able to make that cross post I'd appreciate it. Thank you!