Vandals smash up Helsinki’s CityBikes

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By Juha Salonen
     
      The face of genuine and inimitable stupidity stares from the CityBike stand set up next to Kiasma, Helsinki’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Of the five Helsinki City Transport (HKL) bicycles, which are at anyone’s disposal against a two-euro deposit, four have been smashed to pieces.
      The chains are missing, as are the pedals in some cases, and the saddles have disappeared who knows where.
      And as the pièce de résistance, the mudguard brackets have been bent to point at all quarters.
     
The bicycles’ common denominator is that they are no longer roadworthy. Is this the way the Helsinki residents present their thanks when the city finally provides something else than "No walking on the grass” or “No spitting” signs?
      Or was this done by the city residents at all? Rather, it looks like the handiwork of blithering idiots.
     
According to the HKL planning chief Ville Lehmuskoski, the CityBike vandals are an annual annoyance. As soon as the bikes appear, some people’s eyes start gleaming curiously.
      “Several dozen bikes get trashed every summer. But it is somewhat rare that an entire standful of bikes are pulled apart like this."
      In all, there are around 300 CityBikes available in Helsinki.
      "The purpose was to make the bikes robust and difficult to break, but apparently we have not quite succeeded in that endeavour", Lehmuskoski frets.
      Each CityBike costs nearly EUR 400. The taxpayers pick up the tab, of course.
      But despite the vandalism, the CityBikes are in Helsinki to stay.
      "We will not give up on them. The Kiasma bikes were brought in to be serviced already on Thursday night. They will soon be back in action", Lehmuskoski says.
      The spare parts for the CityBikes are twice as expensive as for regular bicycles. The saddles, for one, are of a special design.
     
Also in Vuosaari one must stop and wonder about the mentality – or rather the insanity - of the bicycle vandals. With the CityBike carcass at the bottom of the Kallahti inlet, someone has genuinely made an effort.
      The bike has first been ridden from Central Helsinki all the way out to the eastern suburb of Vuosaari, and then it has been hurled into the water to collect seaweed. Bloody hell, perfectly good bicycle!
      The water is cold and the wind is about to rip off even one's underwear, but soon there is one less derelict bike in the Baltic Sea.
      Stop the madness, people! Even a journalist is just a person, and he, too, gets wet pulling off stunts like this.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki CityBike season to commence next week (6.5.2008)

JUHA SALONEN / Helsingin Sanomat
juha.salonen@hs.fi