Transport
Sustainability Plan at TBU in 2026+
- May – Commute to work by bike, scooter, on foot, or by jogging
- Electric charging stations at buildings U2, U11, U13, and U17
Commute by bike, scooter, on foot, or jogging – May 2026
Once again, the popular “Commute by Bike, on Foot, or Jogging” (DPNK) event is back. Boost your physical and mental well-being, get a goodie bag including a T-shirt or socks, and join the May challenge. You can register until the end of April. If you’re already a regular participant, sign up at https://dopracenakole.cz/
If you want to try this challenge for the first time, it’s not complicated. To accept the DPNK challenge, simply form a team of 2–5 members, register on the website (each participant separately), and then, throughout May, commute to and from work as regularly as possible by bike, scooter, skateboard, wheelchair, or on foot or by running.
Participants in the challenge will receive organic cotton T-shirts or socks—both featuring the original “Cycle to Work” print. After the challenge ends, we will hold a drawing for participants with a regularity rate of over 66%, and winners can look forward to exciting prizes such as UTB merchandise, books, electronics, or plants.
Sustainability at UTB in 2025
- May “Cycle, Scooter, Walk, or Jog to Work” (DPNK) challenge – 94 employees, 13,666 km, awards ceremony with fair trade coffee
- Sustainable Mobility Survey – 11 universities in the Czech Republic, 707 respondents at UTB
- Nextbike bike-sharing
How Czech universities are moving and how UTB is doing
Last year, together with nine other universities, we participated in a survey on sustainable mobility among students and employees. We thank all 707 respondents who shared their opinions on behalf of UTB; a total of 8,207 respondents participated.
At UTB, we most often travel by car (32%), bus and train (29%), or walk around town (18%), take the trolleybus (15%), and ride a bike (6%).
The responses clearly show that when choosing a mode of transport, people place the greatest emphasis on speed, availability, and reliability, while environmental reasons or health benefits tend to take a back seat. Commuting distance and the number of children in the household also influence transportation behavior.
What would lead us to choose more sustainable transportation? Users cited faster travel times as the strongest motivation, followed by lower transportation costs. In third place is infrastructure improvement, which means both more bike lanes and safe sidewalks in the city, as well as facilities at our university.
Nextbike Bike-Sharing
- 13,578 rentals at UTB stations (+13%)
- 2,145 users (+22%)
- Distance: 15,452 km (+9%)
- Average ride time: 9 min 33 s
- The most frequently used bike station is U18
Sustainability at UTB in 2024
In 2024, UTB used 27 vehicles for transporting employees and students, for maintenance and operations, and for cafeteria and catering purposes. Of this total, the VW Multivan used by the KMZ was decommissioned, and two new Toyota Proace vehicles were purchased for mail delivery and for the maintenance center (low-voltage systems). The average year of manufacture for the vehicles is 2016, meaning the average age of the vehicles is 8 years. In total, all vehicles traveled 423,424 km per year. Average fuel consumption is 7.64 liters per 100 km. Over the past six years, the number of kilometers driven and fuel consumption have not varied significantly, and in 2024, we can say that vehicle use is slightly higher than the average.
UTB has 18,559 m² ofparking lots and associated roads and access ramps within its buildings and surrounding areas, which corresponds to 522 parking spaces reserved for its employees (of which 199 spaces are in garages and 323 spaces are in the vicinity of the buildings).
As a more sustainable and healthier form of transportation, employees and students can use shared bicycles provided by nextbike Czech Republic s.r.o. Under the 2021 agreement, users receive a one-time credit of 150 CZK, and thanks to the city of Zlín, bike rides of up to 15 minutes are free—which is essentially sufficient for traveling between individual UTB buildings. Employees and students can find bike stations right next to seven buildings—specifically at U2, U4, U5, U6, U12, U16, and U18—and use both standard and electric bikes.
- Number of rentals: 12,005 with a start or end at a UTB station (+55% compared to 2023)
- Total number of users: 1,763 users (+50% compared to 2023)
- Number of UTB users: 158 users with the @utb.cz domain (+16% compared to 2023)
- Total distance: 14,154 km (+52% compared to 2023)
- Number of UTB rides: 3,492 rides by users with the @utb.cz domain (+23% compared to 2023)
- Average trip: 1.18 km, 8 min 17 s
- In total, we saved 2,216 kg of CO₂ at UTB compared to car trips, which is equivalent to the carbon absorption of 102 trees.
Some buildings also have bike racks where employees can securely lock their own bikes. These bike racks can be found in buildings U5, U6, U12, and U15.
In May 2024, employees were able to participate for the first time in the “To Work by Bike, on Foot, or Jogging” event organized by the Auto*Mat association with financial support from UTB. Over 100 employees from all parts of the university competed in 35 teams. In total, UTB employees covered 12,600 km during May, which corresponds to a savings of more than 2 tons of CO2 that would have been produced by driving a car. To put this into perspective, this savings is equivalent to the carbon footprint of approximately fourteen round-trip flights by a single passenger between Prague and Milan.
After the event concluded, a survey was also conducted among employees. Overall, employees had a very positive impression of this challenge, rating it 4.49 out of 5. Conversely, the lowest rating went to TBU’s facilities for athletes (showers, bike racks, etc.), which received 3.31 out of 5.
From the employees’ perspective, the greatest benefit of this challenge was improved physical fitness, followed closely by teamwork with colleagues. Additionally, 26% of employees admitted that, outside of this challenge, they typically drive to work.
Sustainable Development Strategy 2025–2030
Sub-goal 2.H. Create sustainable transport infrastructure
Implementation Measures for the Period 2025–2026
- Develop a Fleet Renewal Plan with an emphasis on environmentally friendly alternatives and their efficient use
- Develop or select a methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of the university’s own vehicle fleet
- Develop a Transportation Optimization Plan for TBU, including a plan for building infrastructure for active mobility and establishing a budget
- Develop or select a methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of work and study-related travel