Unfortunately, missing bikes are not uncommon in Maastricht (or in the Netherlands, for that matter). Usually when bikes go missing, one of two things has happened: either the municipality has taken your bike, or it has been stolen.
Bike removal by the municipality
If you park your bike in the incorrect place for a long period of time, the Maastricht Gemeente (municipality) will remove it and take it to its bike depot. If your bike is gone, it may very well have ended up there. You can check if this is the case on lostandfound – just type ‘bike in Maastricht’ into the search function. If your bike shows up, then it will be at the municipality’s depot. Once you’ve made sure it’s there (and it will only be there if it shows up on lostandfound), then you can retrieve your bike from the depot on Mondays between 13:00 and 17:00, or on Thursdays between 15:30 and 16:30. The location is Sint Gerardusweg 39, 6224 LV Maastricht. You will have to pay a fee of €25 in order to collect it. This fee is only payable via PIN/debit card.
The reason for this is that the municipality will require proof that you actually own the bike you’re trying to recover from the depot. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a photo or the serial number, but could also be the bike’s keys, or a receipt or sales agreement.
Stolen bikes
The other most likely option is that your bike has been stolen. If the municipality has not picked up your bike and the circumstances are suspicious, then always file a report at the police station or online. Once again, try to gather as much proof as possible that you own the bike. However, you should know that the rate of stolen bikes returned to their true owners is sadly quite low.
In case you witnessed a bike theft, you should also file a report with the police online. This page provides more information about bike theft. You can also check this Facebook group for more information and discussions about bike theft in and around Maastricht.
If you want to learn more about preventing bike theft in Maastricht, check out our page on bike storage and security.
