COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Electric bike and scooter thefts are surging at Texas A&M University, leaving students worried about their daily transportation and taking extra precautions to protect their rides.
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University police report 15 electric scooters and bikes have been stolen in just the last month, with almost all thefts occurring on the main campus. The sudden spike has students like Bennett Palla questioning the timing and searching for safer parking spots.
"Crazy to me. It's like, why now, honestly?" Palla said.
The thefts are impacting students who depend on electric bikes and scooters for daily campus transportation. For many, the stolen devices represent both a financial loss and a disruption to their routine.
"It makes me worried, makes me wanna find like a better spot to kind of park it or something," Palla said.
Student Erick Guajardo believes the crime wave is affecting trust levels across campus and forcing students to be more vigilant about their surroundings.
"Makes people, makes them wanna trust people like a little less and make them wanna think higher, like more of what they're doing," Guajardo said.
Both students agree the responsibility falls on them and their peers to better protect their property. They've noticed many students being careless with their expensive devices.
"I've seen a lot of people who just throw their bike down and just leave it," Palla said. "They just need to lock up the bike and like maybe have something to honestly track cause this is not fun. And these bikes are not cheap either."
"The student has to become more self-aware of what's going on and be able to protect their property too," Guajardo said.
University Police Department is now urging students to step up their security measures. Recommended precautions include using proper locks, adding tracking devices, removing batteries when parked, parking in well-lit areas, and registering devices with the university.
"Just be more aware and like cautious," Palla said. "I hope the police can crack down on it, honestly, cause I don't wanna have to worry about like my bike being stolen."
University police are asking anyone with information about the thefts to contact them at 979-845-2345.
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