We've Signed Another Memorandum with the Hradec Králové Region

Press release: Cooperation in regional development, education, innovation and the cultural and creative industries.

Thanks to cooperation with the ŠKODA AUTO Endowment Fund, the number of shared bikes in the Hradec Králové Region is growing.

Towns and villages in the Hradec Králové Region have been successfully expanding their offer of shared bikes in recent years. Whereas in 2024 people in the region could use the service in eight municipalities with 526 bikes available, this year 16 municipalities are taking part with a total of 714 shared bikes. The Hradec Králové Region cooperates with the ŠKODA AUTO Endowment Fund on the development of this form of transport. Their representatives today signed a memorandum of cooperation across several areas, valid until 2029.

“The original memorandum, signed between the region and the fund in 2024 to support the development of shared bikes, is now followed by a new one that envisages broader cooperation in the areas of regional development, education, innovation and the cultural and creative industries. We're glad we can cooperate in this way with a company that has two of its plants in our region and is one of its major employers,” said Petr Koleta, Governor of the Hradec Králové Region.

The memorandum mentions, among other things, the education of mayors and joint support for lifelong learning centres at secondary schools, with the specific terms of cooperation to be set out in separate agreements.

“In the previous period we showed with the Hradec Králové Region that even a single well-targeted project can have a major systemic impact — for example, the support for shared bikes is now operating in sixteen towns and is genuinely changing how people move around the region. The new memorandum for 2026–2029 takes the cooperation considerably further. Alongside continuing support for shared mobility, we're focusing for instance on creating creative hubs in Vrchlabí and Rychnov, which should strengthen the region's resilience and its appeal to innovative entrepreneurs over the long term. Support for secondary education and the development of public-administration competencies and citizen participation will also be major themes. For us, what matters is that we share with the region an approach based on data, partnership and a focus on real impact in the region,” says Michal Kadera, Chairman of the Board of NFŠA.

Any municipality in the Hradec Králové Region can join the shared-bike programme. The benefit is that the first 15 minutes of a ride are free. The subsidy covers up to 70 percent of the operating costs of the bikes, up to CZK 750,000, with a fifth of the total costs paid by the ŠKODA AUTO Endowment Fund. In 2024, CZK 3.7 million was earmarked for support; in 2025 it was CZK 5 million; and for this year the figure is set at CZK 6 million.

“The use of shared bikes is a great way to reduce traffic and the related negative impacts, particularly in city centres. I'm very pleased that more and more towns and villages are gradually joining the programme, and above all that people are actually using these bikes for their journeys,” said Deputy Governor Štěpán.

The Hradec Králové Region, one of the regions with the highest offer and use of shared mobility in the country, has Hradec Králové itself among its participants — with 220 shared bikes and 30 e-bikes available — and Jičín, with around sixty shared bikes.

The shared-bike support project in the Hradec Králové Region will be discussed on 24 April at the chateau in Rychnov nad Kněžnou, where the region's third bike-share season will be officially launched. The event will include a presentation of the subsidy scheme and bike-sharing experience, as well as a joint ride on the shared bikes.