A variety of used bikes will be available this Saturday at UCSB’s semi-annual bike auction, sponsored by the Community Service Organization (CSO).

The auction will take place in Lot 32 behind the Public Safety building near Harder Stadium on Oct. 2. The bicycles up for auction are in varying condition and range in price from $10 to over $200, CSO Coordinator Jill Singletary said. Viewing of the bikes will begin at 9 a.m. and the bidding process will start at 10 a.m.

Bikes up for auction are the products of donation, abandonment and unclaimed impoundment, Singletary said. The impounded bikes up for auction have been in the CSO’s hands for over 90 days.

Near the end of the auction, bikes will be sold through the method of Dutch auction, where the price will be lowered until a buyer is found. Singletary said leftover bikes are donated to charity.

Bicycles are the most common form of transportation at UCSB as well as the most common type of theft, accounting for 57.31 percent of property crime in 2003, according to UC Police Dept.’s 2003 Annual Report and Crime Statistics.

Last year, the number of bikes reported as stolen jumped 37 percent from 178 bikes to 243 bikes. UCPD Public Information Officer Mark Signa said the increase may be a reflection of more people reporting their bicycles stolen. In order to keep bikes safe, Signa said it was best to register bikes as well as lock them to bike racks by the frame of the bike.