New York delivery man protests demanding measures against theft of electric bicycles▶ Click here for a larger view
Deliverymen in New York, USA, who provide for their families with food delivery, are threatened with livelihoods from bicycle thieves.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 9th (local time) that the number of burglars and thefts aimed at electric bicycles used by New York deliverymen has soared.
Last year, New York reported 328 cases of theft of electric bicycles, double the number of 166 cases in the previous year.
Electric bikes used by New York deliverymen can travel 30 km/h. In New York, notorious for traffic jams, a good electric bike is essential to get as many deliveries as possible.
New York deliverymen, mostly immigrants, make deliveries by electric bike and earn $60 a day (about 68,000 won) to support their families.
However, as the number of unemployed increases due to the recent coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the number of hands aiming for electric bicycles has also increased.
Electric bicycles with a new product price of around $1,700 (approximately 193 million won) are in high demand in the stolen goods market. NYT explains that parts are sold as they are or parts are traded after being disassembled.
Deliveryman passing through Times Square in New York▶ Click here for a larger view
There are thieves who steal electric bicycles while the delivery man is away, but there are also many robbers who threaten the delivery man and steal the electric bicycle.
According to the police, a tactic that robbers like to use is to use a counterfeit credit card to order food for delivery to a specific address and then threaten the delivery man to steal the electric bicycle.
In particular, the robbers appeared to be targeting immigrant deliverymen. This is because there are not a few delivery men who cannot report to the police even if they are stolen or robbed depending on whether they have permission to stay.
As the theft and theft of electric bicycles increased, deliverymen were also in a desperate situation.
In October of last year, more than 1,000 deliverymen gathered in front of New York City Hall to attend a demonstration asking the city authorities to prevent theft and theft of electric bicycles.
Ebelio Gabriel, who was recently deprived of an electric bicycle as an immigrant from Mexico, said, “We are prey because of the fact that we are immigrants. In order to make money, we have to collect $1,700 and buy a new electric bicycle.”
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