Tag Archive: Prague

  1. Prague plans to ban e-scooters in city centre

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    A proposal has been submitted to the Prague 1 City Council to introduce zones prohibiting the use of electric scooters in the city centre due to serious concerns about safety, public order, and excessive strain on public space.

    Source: Prague Daily News & Expats.cz

    The Prague 1 City Council has adopted a proposal recommending the introduction of a legislative process led by the city, through which access and movement of e-scooters in designated areas would be restricted. The ban would establish special zones where riding and parking e-scooters, whether privately owned or rented, would be prohibited. The zones would be marked with traffic signs, with exceptions only granted through individual authorisations and special cases. The proposal also calls for consistent enforcement by both municipal and state police.

    Why is Prague considering banning electric scooters?

    Prague 1 has long criticised the unregulated operation of electric scooters in its area. As early as 2023, the Prague 1 municipal council expressed clear opposition to rental e-scooters and urged the city to take appropriate action. The draft ordinance enabling the ban was approved by Prague City Council on April 12, with Traffic Commissioner Vojtěch Ryvola to begin formal negotiations with the city on adopting the ordinance.

    Ryvola stated: “Every day in Prague 1 we deal with inconsiderate parking of e-scooters, danger to pedestrians, and illegal riding on pavements. The situation is intolerable—it’s time to send a clear signal. We are ready to defend public space and the safety of our residents.”

    Previously, Prague 1 City Council led a successful campaign to ban the use of Segways in the city centre in 2016.

    How will the ban on electric scooters work?

    Upcoming contracts with the Technical Administration of Roads (TSK) will no longer include scooters. Without legal parking access, operators will be unable to continue services.

    The City of Prague is expected to approve the new parking zones by the end of May. Upcoming contracts with the TSK will no longer include scooters but the TSK will still sign agreements with bike and e-bike providers. Without legal parking access, operators will be unable to continue scooter services. Shared scooter companies will then be required to remove their vehicles from city streets.

    Enforcement will begin immediately following the May deadline. The TSK will monitor public spaces and remove any unauthorized scooters, issuing fines and requiring payment before any vehicle is returned.

    According to Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib, the new system is intended to promote responsible micromobility while reducing safety risks and visual clutter in public spaces.

  2. Prague 1 Municipal District bans e-scooter parking

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    Source: TheMAYOR.eu, Prague Monitor

    The municipal district, which includes much of the medieval historic heart of the city, has unanimously agreed a motion to prohibit the parking of electric scooters in its public spaces.

    In a similar vein the the Paris restrictions, and other proposals across Europe, Prague has decided to place limits that forbid the parking of shared e-scooters within its central streets and parks. The district also plans to approach the municipality to extend this ban to cover the entire conservation area.

    The move appears to be motivated by concern for public safety, as well by numbers of tourists unfamiliar both with the vehicles and the local streets. Co-sponsor Pavel Marc (Praha 1 Sobě) was quoted as saying, “Having relatively hefty machines, often occupied by two people, constantly cluttering our sidewalks and endangering our elderly population is incompatible with life in this part of the city,” 

    Though the motion prohibits parking, there is some leniency in the fact that it does not forbid e-scooters from passing through the zone. Current affected operators in the city include Lime and Bolt.

    It was reported that Miroslav Stejskal, director of the Prague 1 municipal police, shared that officers had dealt with 4,352 scooter-related offences and issued fines amounting to approximately CZK 1.1 million (about 45,000 euros) over a six month period. This is in contrast to the number of offences related to cyclists in the same period, which numbered 560, or about eight times less.

  3. Prague’s cargo bike boom – a case study for urban last-mile deliveries

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    Source: Autonomy Network

    Prague remains a key location for cargo bike urban integration, having opened two city center depots. After operating for a sustained period, the success of the scheme can now be evaluated.

    Prague’s two cargo bike depots opened in 2020 and 2021 respectively, being recognized by the 2021 Eurocities Awards as a low-carbon alternative to last-mile van delivery. The principal is simple, a van drops off packages at the central depot, which are then delivered across the city via cargo bike. In Prague, hilly terrain leads to a preference for e-cargo bikes, allowing riders to tackle tougher terrain with ease. Thus far, each depot has delivered approximately 7,000 orders per month, with each location housing up to eight companies.

    Successful collaboration between public and private sectors

    Operating companies pay a small fee to cover depot running costs, and hence, the city administration does not have to contribute a stake in the project outside of the initial construction cost. For a relatively low price, the depot helps to achieve Prague’s long-term vision to promote cycling and change its citizens’ attitudes to this means of transport. The depot also contributes to the city’s pledge to lower its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.

    The project is a good example of cooperation between different actors. The pilot project was approved by the city council based on a study by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development. It took only three months to execute the proposal. Ekolo, the company setting up and running the depot, attributes this success to intense cooperation between the logistics firm and city-run companies.

    Domestic firm (Dámejídlo, Zásilkovna, Rohlík or WEDO) and international firms (DHL, Dascher, GLS) both profit from the innovation. Twelve enterprises use the two depots at present, but Adam Scheinherr, mayor’s deputy for transportation, is in talks with companies that could not be accommodated in the first depots. A representative of Ekolo started helping with similar cargo bike projects in London, Copenhagen, and Lille.

    Potential to inspire future action and lessons learned

    As the largest depots of their kind, Prague’s cargo bike scheme offers both a point of inspiration and a case study from which to learn. Of course, it is commonly accepted that electric cargo bikes are an optimal delivery vehicle; speedy, quiet, low polluting, cheaper, accessible, etc. however, new insight can now be utilized to further improve customer and driver experience.

    The key lessons learned for future projects were:

    • More depots are required: This will minimize driver distance and reduce delivery times.
    • Unsustainable trends must still be recognized: Overconsumption and the negative impact of deliveries and packaging are still prominent issues for the majority of parcel lifetimes. More localized production is required.
    • Worker experience must be improved: One recent example concerns an online grocery store, Rohlik.cz, one of the companies using the depot. The firm reduced the couriers’ wages (despite having almost doubled its profit last year), sparking public concern. Other difficulties of this job came to light, namely long working hours, lack of social security, and uncertain wages.