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If you ride a bicycle in New Orleans, you’ll no longer need to register your bike.

On Thursday, the New Orleans City Council ruled that registration will be voluntary, but still required by companies that rent bikes.

“Bicycle registration was initially put in place to ensure the safe return of citizen’s property, and we hope people will continue to utilize the program. This ordinance changes the registration requirement from mandatory to voluntary for privately owned bikes, while moving program administration to the Department of Safety and Permits. I always want our government to provide the maximum benefit to citizens, and I believe these changes will help accomplish that,” said Councilmember Palmer.

While the ordinance removes the mandate to register privately owned bicycles, Councilmember Palmer encourages individual bike owners to utilize the program.

While you may no longer have to register your bike, the cops will tell you the best way to recover a stolen bike is to make sure it is registered.