Amid growing pressure from locals, Prague 1 bans e-scooters on historic Nerudova Street
Prague’s historic Nerudova street, the steep cobbled artery leading up to Prague Castle, has become the testing ground for a clampdown on electric scooters. Prague 1 has just introduced the first official ban on e-scooters in the capital, along the entire length of the street, citing repeated accidents and growing frustration among local residents.
The long-standing battle over the fate of e-scooters in the Czech capital remains unresolved after the Prague City Council rejected a motion to ban shared e-scooters in June of this year. However, the city’s historic Prague 1 district, which has long complained about the lack of regulation on their use and parking and the increasing health hazard they present in the crowded city centre, has now moved to assert control over e-scooters in its jurisdiction.
Signs banning e-scooters were installed at both ends of Nerudova Street this week and formally unveiled by district officials. Police are empowered to confiscate e-scooters and fine their riders if the rules are ignored. Only delivery vehicles and holders of special district permits are exempt.
According to the town hall, the move follows a surge of complaints about the behaviour of riders, many of them tourists using app-based rental services. The scooters, critics say, are treated less as transport and more as a sightseeing gimmick, often leaving pedestrians dodging vehicles in the center’s narrow streets.
Vojtěch Ryvola, Prague 1’s councilor for transport, argues that the situation has become untenable and the local authorities must take action to protect pedestrians.
“The fact is that we have had a growing number of collisions in recent weeks that resulted in serious health injuries to pedestrians. Nerudova Street is particularly dangerous because of its steep slope and we get a lot of drunk tourists whizzing down the street on e-scooters in the late evening and night hours and presenting a public hazard.”
The measure has been approved by both the police and the Prague transport department, giving it full legal effect. City Hall spokesman Vít Hofman confirmed that every district has the authority to regulate traffic on roads that it administers. “Prague 1 approached us about the matter and stated its intention. Our transport department found no issue, so we raised no objection,” he said.
Finding a broader solution for shared e-scooters across Prague is a problem that the city council has wrestled with for years, caught between the demands of shared scooter and bicycle operators and growing pressure from local residents.
Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib of the Pirate Party, who championed the proposed ban on e-scooters, argues that its rejection violates the coalition’s own program commitments. He says the chances of pushing it through now are slim.
Vojtěch Ryvola, the councilor for transport in Prague 1, countered that the district is not necessarily seeking a blanket ban. He says that if the restriction on Nerudova Street proves effective, Prague 1 will consider extending it to other areas where pedestrians are most at risk. But rather than prohibiting scooters outright, the district might explore measures such as enforcing motors to be shut off in designated zones.
At the same time, Prague 1 is urging City Hall to push harder for an agreement on regulating the operation of shared bikes and scooters across the city, including rules for designated parking areas.
For now, Nerudova Street will serve as a testing ground. If the measure brings relief to pedestrians and residents, it could soon mark an end to Prague’s laissez-faire approach to shared e-scooters.
