It's for free

At the beginning, there were complaints in the neighbourhood that the municipal police in Semily, a town with population of 9,000, located at the foot of the Krkonoše mountains, was going from bad to worse. When the police drive through the town, they never notice anything, people said. And when they go on foot, they can't catch anybody. A cure involving the replacement of part of the police cars with bicycles affected other town hall employees as well in the end. Besides police officers, the mayor and town hall department heads ride bikes through the streets too. And, gradually, the effects as well as pitfalls of this pioneer project come to surface.

We will not force them

„The motivation is clear. Riding a bike is for free,“ a smiling man in his sixties says at the Semily town hall vestibule, pulling out a shiny silver bike from the adjoining office. Semily deputy mayor Vladimír Šimek presents the latest addition to the fleet of municipal vehicles, a comfortable „citybike“ with fenders and a chain guard, which one can ride with a skirt or a suit on. Since last year, the Semily municipal police, a clerk responsible for official correspondence, and a community service coordinator have all been riding bikes. And other town hall employees should join them right now. "Sometimes you simply have to go to the other end of the town to deal with an issue. With bikes, we save not only…