Elections 2025: What Are the Parties Promising in the Area of Cycling Transport?

It must be noted that evaluating election programs is always a tricky task — especially when it comes to the topic of cycling transport. This is particularly true for nationwide elections. After all, the major political topics lie elsewhere, and voters’ decisions are unlikely to be significantly influenced by a party’s stance on this issue.

Nevertheless, it’s worthwhile to take a look at the topic of cycling transport ahead of the elections, and also to remember that certain improvements in cycling infrastructure cannot be achieved without changes at the national level. This includes amendments to laws and regulations, but also the setup of infrastructure funding systems and methodological guidance. Actions by national organizations such as the Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) and the Railway Administration (SŽ) can also have a major impact on development.

Among the changes that occur at the national level are, for example, amendments to legal regulations. These include the recent update to a decree that introduced new traffic signage, and the widely discussed regulation introduced four years ago that set a minimum safe passing distance when overtaking cyclists. Other issues debated in the past have included regulations affecting Segways (so-called personal transporters), or tourist beer-cycle buses. There is now an ongoing debate about the regulation of e-scooters and other types of light electric vehicles.

Of course, there are many more topics, and they are not always brought into the spotlight. Often, these issues would deserve broader expert debate and a well-thought-out professional consensus — not just ad hoc changes proposed by individual MPs.

There are plenty of such topics. Just to name a few — without going too deep into the broader context — we can mention the issue of right-of-way at cycle crossings, whether all of them or specifically those where cyclepaths run parallel to a main road. Another example includes technical matters related to traffic lights, especially in connection with marking indirect left-turns at signalized intersections. And other potential changes that could significantly ease the construction of truly continuous cycling infrastructure.

Election Programs 2025

But instead of diving into theory, let’s look at real-world practice — in the form of the election programs. We reviewed the platforms of parties, movements, and coalitions that consistently reached at least 5% in voter preference polls during the second half of September.

Unlike the analysis before the previous elections, this time we’ll take a detailed look at cycling transport and micromobility in urban areas. We won’t speculate whether vague phrases about “modern transport” might also include cycling. We will focus only on those parts of the election programs where the topic is mentioned in at least some concrete way.

If you’re interested in a broader perspective, you can check the pre-election program analysis by Zelený kruh (a coalition of environmental NGOs, which includes AutoMat — Městem na kole is an independent project of this group, editor’s note). In the chapter titled Sustainable Urban Mobility, you’ll find an analysis of the programs from a wider angle.

Cycling transport in the party programs

When narrowing the topic down specifically to cycling transport and micromobility, the situation becomes fairly clear: the topic is actively mentioned in the programs of three parties — Mayors (Starostové), Pirates (Piráti), and Motorists for Themselves (Motoristé sobě). The first two address it in a mostly positive light, while the latter does so in a negative sense.

Mayors (Starostové)

The Mayors in their program include an entire section titled High-Quality Infrastructure for Cycling Transport. They describe in considerable detail the individual steps that, from their perspective, could contribute to building quality cycling infrastructure.

This includes creating an official national cycling coordinator position, allocating permanent funding for cycling infrastructure construction (roughly 1–2% of all transportation infrastructure budgets), and changing how single-track vehicles are categorized and potentially regulated. The party also wants to promote changes at multiple levels to support the development of continuous and high-quality cycling infrastructure. See specific proposals below:

• We will introduce the position of a national cycling coordinator, who will coordinate the work of regional coordinators and cooperation between government institutions, regions, municipalities, and other relevant entities. The coordinator will have the authority to set standards for cycling infrastructure construction and secure project funding. This role will be modeled on the proven practice in Germany, where the national cycling coordinator oversees strategic planning and infrastructure development, comments on transport projects, coordinates stakeholders, supports public awareness campaigns, and ensures monitoring and evaluation.
• We will revise legislation to support non-motorized transport. This includes legislative changes such as amending the Line Construction Act to simplify the approval of cyclepaths, and updating Act No. 56/2001 Coll. to clearly define the homologation of various types of electrified personal vehicles. We will facilitate the permitting and financing of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure projects, including classifying cyclepaths as public-benefit structures. We will introduce a requirement to consider the impact on non-motorized transport in all transport project approvals — similar to the Netherlands, where cycling is integrated into all planning processes.
• We will ensure stable financing for cycling infrastructure by specifying the exact amount of funding directly in the state budget for the support of non-motorized transport, especially cycling — for example, 1–2% of the transport infrastructure budget, equaling about CZK 1.5 billion per year (roughly a 50% increase). These funds, understood as compensation measures for road construction, will be exclusively used for building and maintaining cyclepaths, secure bike parking at public transport stations, and possibly pedestrian infrastructure — similar to initiatives in Germany.
• We will revise technical standards and regulations to support sustainable mobility. Specifically, ČSN 73 6110 and TP179 will be updated to reflect current global trends and emphasize safety and quality in cyclepath and bike lane design. The regulations will require separation of cycling and motor traffic in all new and reconstructed roads. We will clearly define non-motorized transport devices and vehicles with auxiliary power, and establish their rights and responsibilities.
• We will improve integration of cycling and public transport by continuing to acquire public transport vehicles, especially trains, that allow bike transport. We will ensure better secure bike parking options at public transport stations. We will develop and launch marketing campaigns to promote multimodal transport, increasing awareness of the benefits of combining cycling with public transportation.
• We will unify the approach of Czech Police traffic departments when issuing statements on transport projects, through a methodological guideline that ensures consistent and predictable rules across regions.

Pirates (Piráti)

The Pirates’ program is briefer in this area and goes into less detail. Cycling infrastructure is addressed in Point 23: We Will Modernize the Railway and Road Network. The Pirates state that in most cities, a continuous network of cyclepaths remains a dream. They aim to make full use of EU funds for developing non-motorized transport in cities and point out the high costs associated with injuries and deaths from traffic accidents.

Here’s what we want: We will prioritize projects with the highest added value for society and the best cost-benefit ratio. We will ensure transparent management at the secretive Ministry of Transport. We will conscientiously maintain and improve what we have inherited: we will modernize the rail network and maintain roads using data and modern technologies. We will propose legal changes to increase the safety of vulnerable road users. We will fully utilize billions from EU funds designated for developing urban non-motorized transport.

Motorists for Themselves (Motoristé sobě)

Motorists for Themselves also focus on transportation problems in their program. They emphasize what they see as the catastrophic traffic situation in Prague and other cities, which they blame on ideologically driven interventions that ignore drivers‘ needs. They promise not to support what they call ideological promotion of cycling and stress that the car is a symbol of freedom and prosperity.

In Prague, as well as in other cities, the traffic situation is becoming catastrophic — the result of ideological interventions that ignore the needs of drivers. We reject the ideological promotion of cycling and the artificial reduction of parking spaces in cities. We will not support blanket implementation of low-emission zones, which punish owners of older, but still safe and fully functional vehicles. Our vision is to support technological development in the automotive industry without forcing specific types of propulsion (e.g. electric vehicles). We will oppose bans on combustion engines and fleet emission limits that artificially increase car prices and heavily disadvantage both consumers and manufacturers. Motorists are not against modern technology, but they want its adoption to be based on economic and practical conditions, not political decisions.

Other parties

The remaining parties do not address the topic of cycling transport or urban micromobility in any meaningful detail within their programs, nor do they mention it directly.

Programs of the other parties reviewed:

• ANO
• SPOLU
• SPD
• Stačilo

Practical information

The elections will take place on Friday, October 3 from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM and on Saturday, October 4 from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Voting takes place throughout the Czech Republic across 14 electoral regions, as well as abroad at Czech embassies and consulates. Voters cast their vote in the district where they have permanent residence. Exceptions include voters using a voter ID card, or those staying in hospitals, social care institutions, or other similar facilities during the election period.

For the first time, Czech citizens living abroad can register for postal voting, following prior registration.

Eligible voters are Czech citizens who will be at least 18 years old by October 4, 2025. More information about the elections is available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior [here].