What is it? The short answer is it's a bike registry system. But unlike other bike registries, you can buy a "shield" to attach to your bike, which helps deter bike theft (thieves will recognize that it's registered and hopefully leave it alone) and make it easy to get the community's help with getting it back to you if it does take a wander with someone else. This system has been proven to reduce bike thefts by up to 55% in some areas! Project 529 is truly global in nature: if your bike is registered in Calgary, stolen from Vancouver and recovered in Australia, it will still be traced to you. No other bike registry has this kind of reach.
Also, because there is a fee for the shield as well as for upgraded accounts for law enforcement, municipalities and post-secondary institutions, there's some actual revenue generated, unlike the free registries which have difficulty maintaining their databases with no income.
Every course participant will receive 1 (one) shield for free; additional shields for your other bikes, your friends' or family's bikes can be added-on or purchased separately. Registration with the 529 Garage is free, but you need to have a Shield in order to enter the community and truly benefit from the system.
More information on the 529 Garage, and access to the registry as well as app can be found here.
Safer Cycling Calgary is proud to be Calgary's first partner with the 529 Garage.
Not attending a course? Want additional Shields? Buy your shield(s) here!
The form below is for purchase of 1 shield: if you want more than one, enter how many more in "additional shields." Your shield(s) will be mailed to the address you specify, along with instructions on how to complete registration.
Thank you for your purchase! Shield(s) will be mailed to you within 5 business days. Individual Registration