Photo by Adam Gerard

Metro recently launched a bike registration program to combat the number of bicycles that are snatched from its stations. And tomorrow morning, Metro Transit Police will continue the rollout by passing out free U-locks to anyone who registers their bike at the UMD-College Park station.

The promotion will run from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Enrollment in the bike registration program, which launched last month, is free, and requires people to submit their make, model, color, frame size, and serial number. The College Park station, on the Green Line, also features one of Metro’s more advanced bike facilities, a 100-space secured area of the station’s parking garage. Access to the Bike & Ride space, where bike parking is available for a few cents per hour, is controlled through membership cards.

But locks are important, too, especially U-locks, which are tougher to crack than chain or wire locks.

Transit Police reported 58 bike thefts in June, two of which took place at College Park. Last year, Metro said that bicycle parking at its stations increased three percent over 2011.