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An app to fight bike theft adopted by the Vancouver police three years ago has grown into a community initiative that’s being described as one of the best in the world.

Known as Project 529 in Canada, the app and how it’s being used by the Vancouver police has resulted in a dramatic and sustained drop in bike thefts. Its success in expanding beyond the police to include bike stores and community groups is one reason why the World Bank believes it has potential application in other cities.

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The two key figures in Project 529’s success have been Const. Rob Brunt and J Allard, who was involved in creating Xbox for Microsoft.

Project 529 is celebrating its growth from 22,000 Vancouver bike registrations in 2017 to almost 70,000 in the region this year. In total, about 800,000 bikes, mostly in Canada and the U.S., are now registered with 529.

“This has become a Monday to Sunday job,” Brunt said. “I’m doing stuff locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. It’s non-stop.”