Faced with the scourge of bicycle theft, the city of Nice has decided to equip itself with connected and secure locks developed by the start-up Sharelock.
In France, over 400,000 bicycles are stolen each year. This figure is all the more worrying as the country has been working since 2019 to promote this mode of transport through its Plan Vélo.
To address this problem, the French start-up Sharelock offers a product innovation that will revolutionize the market of locks. The device is presented in the form of a “motorcycle U-lock that is much heavier than a bicycle U-lock. Which makes it more robust,” explains Thibault Lescure, responsible for deploying the shared locks, during an interview with our colleagues from France Télévision. However, the real innovation lies in the unlocking method. Completely connected, only the user has the ability to open the lock using their smartphone.
The start-up has already tested its products in the municipalities of Meaux, Sceaux, and Saint-Ouen. Nice thus becomes the first major city to equip itself with these innovative locks with 1,500 stations in the metropolis by the end of the year.
And since actions speak louder than words, the start-up commits to reimbursing up to 200 euros to its users if they become victims of bicycle theft.
You will be able to use these new locks starting from the beginning of July.
