<p>In Hradec, the bike parking facility was used by 11,500 people in its first year.</p>

Hradec Králové - The service of the bicycle parking garage in Hradec Králové, which has been operating since last February as the first of its kind in Europe, has been used by over 11,500 cyclists in its year of operation. According to the city hall, the facility has proven successful, and the city is therefore preparing conditions for the construction of more bicycle parking garages in various parts of the city. CTK was informed of this today by city hall spokesperson Magdaléna Vlčková.
    The covered parking garage, in the form of an octagonal tube made of glass and steel for 116 bicycles, was built by a private investor on Riegrovo Square near the main train station of Czech Railways and the stops for public transport. The garage operates without staff, automatically transporting bicycles to available spaces via an elevator. Cyclists do not have to remove anything from their bicycles and can leave their helmets, bags, and other items on them.
    The parking garage has attracted the attention of other city halls; for example, České Budějovice has expressed interest in building a similar structure. "Hradec has come to the attention of many people from different parts of the country. They call us and ask for practical solutions, statistics, and recommendations," said the author, supplier, and investor of the project, Rudolf Bernart.
    Bernart raised the money for the construction of the Hradec prototype garage, which cost approximately 7.5 million crowns, himself. The city provided the land for the construction. Bernart, who is a bicycle trader, came up with the idea for bicycle garages during a business trip to Taiwan, where he encountered a bicycle parking tower. "The Taiwanese garage has staff; ours is automatic. We have patents for it in the Czech Republic and the EU," Bernart stated previously.