BART riders warned not to use white earbuds

Written on March 04, 2007 by Eddie Hargreaves and 15 people have commented

San Francisco is home to one of the largest Apple retail stores, an extremely high concentration of iPod users and BART – the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. But riders of BART are now being warned by transit officials about iPod thefts.

A flyer now available at BART stations is headlined PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR iPOD and notes:

One of the latest robbery targets is your Apple iPod. Robberies on BART aren’t common, averaging about 15 per month systemwide, but iPod thefts amount to 11% of those robberies. iPod theft is not unique to BART; it is a crime of opportunity occurring when an individual is seen wearing the familiar white iPod ear buds.

Bart Police are recommending a number of tactics for riders to use to be safe, including “always be alert and aware of your surroundings” and “if threatened, scream or make noise to draw attention.” But first on their list is

Don’t be a target: Use ear buds other than the standard iPod white, or other aftermarket headphones.

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Comments RSSComments

#1 BP says:
Hmmm, so there are less than 2 incidents per month on the entire system, and they issue a warning?!?! How very stupid. Basically, you’re better off wearing your ipod on the BART rather than on Market.
#2 Edit Dude says:
This is hardly a news flash. People have been advising this for years. My problem is, I already prefer something other than the white earbuds–a set of Bose Quiet Comfort II cans worth almost as much as (and far more visible than) the iPod!
#3 Stuart says:
I think the only paractical solution here is for somebody to make an 1979 walkman case mod for the ipod. Slip it in, use the “walkman” controls and enjoy your tunes through thouse remarkably uncomfortable headphones that shipped with the old platyers.

For reference: http://www.netzwelt.de/images/articles/walkman_1109843692.jpg
#4 Stuart says:
ouch, sometimes I can’t spell, it would seem. P-R-A-C-T-I-C-A-L
#5 Philip from Australia says:
I long ago stopped using the Apple buds. I use the loverly in ear ones that cost $200. But look nothing like the Apple ones. So I feel safe.

Although the apple remote may be a dead giveaway to an observant thief.

Philip
#6 Jenny says:
Good call Philip. I also stay undercover with my headphones that don’t suck…
#7 Ken Westin says:
It might be worthwhile to look into a new service that helps track stolen ipods and other devices:

http://www.gadgettheft.com
#8 QoS says:
Or better yet, just carry a shuffle.
“Jesus, you want my iPod? Here, take the damn thing.”
#9 Stilgherrian says:
Excellent. Two iPod robberies a month amount to something which, statistically, is well under the “random noise” threshold. But yet another news story reinforces the idea that Apple’s MP3 player is cooler and in more demand than the others.

Has anyone checked to see whether the BART media department staff or any BART Police are sporting brand new white earbuds, courtesy of a certain fruit-named company? I smell a marketing ploy…
#10 Jason says:
Doesn’t it seem a little fishy that people on BART are warned not to use the standard iPod headphones, and several SF stations have prominent ads for Bose headphones?

Was Bose *directly* subsidizing the copying and distribution of those warnings?

Come on…