IMPERIAL BEACH (KGTV) – It’s a bizarre case of vandalism. Cody Callarman says deputies called him after 4:30 a.m. Monday to tell him someone threw LimeBikes into his business, shattering two giant windows.
Callarman owns Palm Laundry on Palm Avenue. He says two bikes were used to break his two storefront windows.
“What’s your motivation for throwing a bike through a window?” Callarman said when asked about the incident. “It's not hurting you, but it's hurting me and its really hurting the community that uses laundromats.”
LimeBike is a dockless bicycle sharing service. There were several parked along the street. Callarman doesn't blame the company, he because he says it couldn't have guessed someone would misuse the bikes that way.
“I support (LimeBike),” he said. “I’m a big believer that sometimes people do silly things.”
Callarman is asking anyone with any information to come forward.
10News reached out to LimeBike. A company spokesman had no comment about the specific incident, but gave the following statement:
“Less than 1% of the bikes in our overall fleet have been subjected to vandalism or theft. LimeBikes are GPS and 3G-enabled, making it easy to track their location if needed (and in an instance if theft was suspected).
All LimeBikes are also equipped with anti-theft locks and audible alarms that sound if a bike is moved without being unlocked, which immediately alerts LimeBike officials who can then track the bike using its GPS functions.
Additionally, all of our parts are proprietary, meaning that if someone takes a wheel or another part off of a LimeBike, it won’t fit onto any other bike models.
We are changing the culture of bike-sharing, we are increasing ridership, we are filling the gaps where older, docked stations cannot, and we are a part of the city. It is incredible to see Imperial Beach taking ownership and pride of the bike-share program, just like any other public transportation systems.”
