Personally, I like the idea a great deal and I see that Noisebeam's post proves it exists elsewhere. The success of the program may be debatable, however, as one would rely on ALL shops taking part without exception. Of course, that creates an underground industry where one knows he can go to 'a cerrtain house' or 'a certain shop' or see 'a certain guy' where he can get a bike cheap. And, of course, thieves will just transport stolen bikes to a nearby city and sell the there unless the program is nationwide.