Photo by Glyn Lowe Photos

Capital Bikeshare is supposed to be the provenance of newly arrived urbanites who want to contribute to their city by fostering a less car-centric culture. It’s a leisurely, but active way for tourists to take in the sights and sounds of the nation’s capital. Or a convenient way home after a long night of drinking. (Seriously, those bikes aren’t that wobbly even when you’ve had a few too many D.C. Braus.)

Now, it seems, we can add getaway vehicle to Capital Bikeshare’s list of functions. On Capitol Hill Tuesday evening, a pedestrian walking along East Capitol Street was assaulted and robbed by a man rolling by on one of Bikeshare’s bulky red cycles, the Post reports.

About 7:30 p.m., when it was still plenty bright out, a woman was walking on the 700 block of East Capitol when the suspect, coasting along the sidewalk, punched her in the face, stole her iPhone and pedaled off without even squeezing the brakes, according to passersby:

“She said she was on the phone and was trying to be aware and was holding the phone pretty tight,” said a man who talked to the woman immediately after the robbery but did not see it. “He hit her in the face. He didn’t even stop.”

While D.C. Police have been warning residents about a rise in the theft of iPhones and other portable electronic devices, this is the first known instance in which a mugging suspect has used Bikeshare to make his or her escape, John Lisle, a spokesman for the District Department of Transportation, told the Post.

In general, Bikeshare does not see that much criminal activity. Lisle told the Post only 10 of the Bikeshare system’s more than 1,500 bikes have been stolen since the program launched in September 2010 and that vandalism to the bikes or the docks, while heard of, is not frequent.