Report claims Google keeps getting its Gbikes stolen, loses between 100 and 250 a week

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Google deployed over 1,100 bicycles or “Gbikes” for its employees to use on its sprawling campus but it seems those bikes have been making more and more trips outside of the company’s campus—with both employees and locals of Mountain View using these outside of Google’s grounds. The company reportedly loses between 100 and 250 of these bikes a week. The two-wheelers showing up everywhere from local school grounds to neighbors’ lawns, to the bottom of the town creek, and even on the roof of O’Malley’s Sports Pub. One was even seen in a TV commercial for the cosmetics brand Garnier and another made it as far as Mexico.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, it seems like locals feel comfortable “renting” these bikes from the company like the tech giant owes it to the community or something, even Mayor Ken Rosenberg admitted to have used one of these bikes. Google is trying to lessen the loss of its Gbikes though by installing GPS trackers on the bikes or toying with the idea of locking the bikes with an app. The company even hires a team of 30 contractors to help retrieve these missing bikes.

Source: Gizmodo