On May 18, a University of Oregon police officer spied a likely bike thief, riding one bicycle while "ghost riding" another with his free hand. A stop revealed the "ghost" bike was registered to a UO student and had been freshly stolen.

The registration sticker on the bike allowed the officer to easily look up the true owner and return the bike to the grateful student after the thief had been arrested.

To allow easier bike registration, greater notification of stolen bikes and ultimately to return more bikes to owners, the UO has selected Project 529 of Portland as its partner for high-tech bike registration — the 529 Garage, the industry’s first mobile-based bicycle registration system designed for college campuses.

Bike theft is the single largest category of crimes reported at the UO, with 183 taken in calendar year 2014, 173 in 2013, and 761 over the last five years. And those numbers are just from victims who chose to report to campus law enforcement.

"We want to make it as easy as possible for every bike on campus to be registered," said Paula Ellison of UO Parking and Transportation. "Bikes are a big part of our students’ and employees’ lives, and it’s a major loss, disruption and expense when they’re stolen. A comprehensive registration system can deter thieves and return stolen bikes to their owners."

Networking and streamlined access are the biggest benefits of the new system. Registration stickers and instructions can be distributed at multiple locations, and cyclists then enter information online rather than having to bring a bike and information to a registration center. Then cyclists as well as law enforcement are alerted to thefts or missing bikes.

Bikes that have been registered previously through the UO are still registered, but the university is encouraging all riders to begin to adopt the new, free system to take advantage of the app and online services. All new registrations, including for incoming students in fall 2015, will use 529 Garage.

How it works:

1. Pick up a registration kit at the UO Department of Parking and Transportation (1401 Walnut St.; corner of Franklin Boulevard and Walnut Street) or the UO Outdoor Program Barn (1225 E. 18th Ave.; corner of 18th Avenue and University Street). The kit includes a tamper-proof Shield sticker to apply to the bike, and instructions on registering the unique number in the online 529 Garage system.

2. Apply the Shield sticker to the bike and register the bike’s info at 529 Garage (https://project529.com/oregon) or on the app.

3. When someone reports a theft, 529 Garage alerts police and all subscribed users and shares photos and details of the missing bike, including the last-known location. The cycling community can then provide tips to the owner and police through their device.

All bikes that come to campus must be registered with UO Parking and Transportation; unregistered bikes can be impounded, though that usually happens only with abandoned bikes. Registration allows recovered bikes to be returned to owners.

“College campuses are a magnet for bicycle theft, and therefore a key design point of the 529 Garage,” said Project 529 founder J. Allard. “The 529 Garage is going to help the UO increase the population of bikes registered, lower per-incident costs and empower the entire campus to put thieves on watch.”

The 529 Garage Android and iPhone application is free for all cyclists to download and register their bicycles and to join the active recovery network. The service and 529 Shields are completely free to all UO students and faculty.

Cyclists not affiliated with UO can purchase the 529 Shields and other 529 products from participating bike shops and Amazon.com.