Shared bikes in Prague to be free of charge for 15 minutes, 4 times a day

To use this service, one must have a valid electronic subscription ticket for public transport

On 11 October, the City of Prague reported that it has come one step closer to achieving its goal of offering citizens the most attractive combination of different types of transport. The Czech capital has reportedly achieved this by working alongside bike-sharing companies to connect their services with the Prague Integrated Transport system.

As a result of this collaboration, the city is now launching a pilot project whereby residents will have the opportunity to use a shared bike (by Rekola and Nextbike) for free for 15 minutes and up to 4 times a day. Residents must, however, be owners of valid electronic subscription tickets in order to use the service.

To rent a bike, one must first download the mobile application of the shared bike service provider. Then, they must link it to their regional transport system (Lítačka) account. Once this is done successfully, the bike-sharing system will allow the individual to use the service free of charge for 15 minutes. This can be done up to 4 times a day.

Comfortable and easy movement

The Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Transport Adam Scheinherr explained that the project essentially seeks to facilitate movement in the capital and connect the various modes of transport. According to him, public transport and shared bicycles must complement one another to help make travel more efficient.

Similarly, the Director of Prague Integrated Transport Petr Tomčík commented: "By combining these two sustainable modes of transport in Prague, we want to motivate people to use public transport even more and offer them an even more comfortable and faster way of travel.”

Both Rekola and Nextbike also expressed their delight with the new project, noting that bike-sharing should not be viewed as a competitor to public transport. Tomáš Karpov from Nextbike went further, stressing that smart cities use bike-sharing to make transport more efficient.

This project will last until the end of the fall season. After this, the City of Prague will assess the data gathered from the trial to decide if it should extend the service.