500+ new electric bikes will hit the streets of Prague this week

Following in the footsteps of Prague’s shared pink Rekola bicycles and the popular, if controversial, Limebike electric scooters, a new company is set to launch a line of shared electric bikes in the Czech capital from this week.

The cost of unlocking a bike is 1 crown, and the cost of riding using the electric motor runs 2 crowns per minute.

Alternatively, pedaling the bike without using the electric motor is free for the first ten minutes, and costs 1 crowns per minute after that. Pausing the ride – locking the bike for planned future use – costs half a crown per minute.

Users can locate and dock the bikes using the mobile app from selected stations around Prague that Homeport has agreed with the city.

Leaving the bike at a location other than one the district’s docking stations is allowed, but comes with an additional 25 crown surcharge.

Given the lack of cycling infrastructure in Prague’s city center, and the amount of tourists and others that crowd the streets during much of the year, cycling and scooting through the city’s historic district can be a hazard for both riders and pedestrians.

A controversial bike ban in the city center during daytime hours enacted by Prague 1 was quickly overturned, but markings denoting the prohibited zones still remain on the city streets.

By working with the city in establishing selected docking stations and areas where the Freebikes can be parked, Homeport hopes to avoid some of the issues raised in recent years.