The thirty-thousand-strong town of Trutnov will join other Czech cities offering shared bicycles to people from next Spring. The municipality will do so based on a survey in which people expressed their support for the introduction of shared bicycles. The spokesperson for the municipality, Michaela Dědková, informed the media about this decision.
Shared bicycles, with the first 15 minutes of the ride being free, are currently available to people in the Hradec Králové region in five towns, including the city of Hradec Králové with a population of one hundred thousand.
The Trutnov municipality was uncertain about the interest in shared bicycles. The town faces a longer winter with snow and a hilly terrain. Therefore, the municipality conducted a survey, with 493 respondents participating, of which 310 welcomed the service, and 183 were against it. 184 people voted for traditional bicycles, and 165 for electric bicycles. The most common reason leading them to use shared bicycles was to substitute cycling for public transport (241 respondents selected this option).
People would be most enthusiastic about bicycle-sharing stations in the city center, the Zelená Louka district, near large supermarkets, at the train and bus stations, and at sports facilities. The exact locations will be discussed with the supplying company, which is expected to bring experience from other cities.
„Now we preparing a tender for the service provider. After signing the contract, the construction of the stations will begin, and at the beginning of Spring, we would like to launch the shared bicycles service. We look forward to the results. In a year or two, we will know whether to continue with this service,“ said Tomáš Hendrych, the deputy mayor of Trutnov.
According to him, shared bicycles should help people in complicated traffic situations, as the number of cars is constantly increasing. With the opening of the Polish S3 highway to the Czech border, traffic in Trutnov will become even more complicated. „Bicycles offer an alternative way to move around the city; they are more ecological, healthier, and sometimes faster,“ he added.
The city of Hradec Králové has been financially supporting shared bicycles since June 2022. The original one-year contract was extended for another year until June 28, 2024. The annual subsidy for the city’s shared bicycles is two million Czech crowns. People also have access to shared bicycles in Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Vrchlabí, and Rychnov. In Hořice on Jičínsko, bicycles were purchased for a trial season. Everywhere, the first 15 minutes of the ride are free, and the operation is provided by Nextbike Czech Republic.
This is an adjusted ChatGPT translation of this article: https://mestemnakole.cz/2024/01/trutnov-na-jare-zavede-sdilena-kola-lide-je-v-ankete-podporili/
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