Transport in Prague

Public transport services are dominated by the city's executive agency for transport, Prague Public Transit Company (DPP). DPP controls the majority of public transport, including the metro, buses, trams, the funicular, trolleybuses and selected ferry services.

Public transportation

The public transport infrastructure is under the control of Prague Integrated Transport (PID, Pražská integrovaná doprava) system, consisting of the Prague Metro (lines A, B, and C, its length is 65 km (40 mi) with 61 stations in total), Prague tram system, Prague bus service, commuter trains, a funicular, and seven ferries. Prague has one of the highest rates of public transport usage in the world, with 1.2 billion passenger journeys per year.

Prague Metro

The Metro has three major lines extending throughout the city: A (green), B (yellow) and C (red). A fourth Metro line D is under construction, which will connect the city centre to southern parts of the city (as of 2025, the completion is expected in 2031). The Prague Metro system served 589.2 million passengers in 2012, making it the fifth busiest metro system in Europe and the most-patronised in the world on a per capita basis. The first section of the Prague metro was put into operation in 1974, on the stretch between stations Kačerov and Florenc on the current line C. The first part of Line A was opened in 1978 (Dejvická – Náměstí Míru), the first part of line B in 1985 (Anděl – Florenc).

In April 2015, construction finished to extend the green line A further into the northwest corner of Prague, closer to the airport. A new interchange station for the bus in the direction of the airport is the station Nádraží Veleslavín. The final station of the green line is Nemocnice Motol (Motol Hospital), giving people direct public transportation access to the largest medical facility in the Czech Republic.

In operation there are two kinds of units: "81-71M" which is modernized variant of the Soviet Metrovagonmash 81-71 (completely modernized between 1995 and 2003) and new "Metro M1" trains (since 2000), manufactured by consortium consisting of Siemens, ČKD Praha and ADtranz. The minimum interval between two trains is 90 seconds.

The original Soviet "Ečs" vehicles were excluded in 1997, but one vehicle is placed in public transport museum in depot Střešovice. The Náměstí Míru metro station is the deepest station and is equipped with the longest escalator in European Union.

Buses

Buses fulfil many different roles in Prague's public transport system. Many lines serve as connections between the metro, tram, and rail systems and outlying residential areas. Services are run by the Prague Public Transport Company and several other private operators on suburban connections outside of Prague.

Prague has about 300 bus lines (numbers 100–963). The public transport system operator DPP uses a mix of over 1,200 buses and 37 trolleybuses which are all low-floor, single-deck, and sometimes articulated. Buses such as Solaris Urbino, SOR, Škoda and Iveco Bus operate on the routes. Since 2020, all local bus services are operated by modern low-floor buses.

After precisely 45 years since the old trolleybus system closed, a new trolleybus system was opened in Prague in 2023.

Intercity buses

The main stations of long-distance buses are Černý Most, Zličín and Florenc; the latter which is served by FlixBus.

Trams

Prague has 34 regular tram lines (numbers 1–26, 31 and night trams numbered 91–99). The Prague tram system is the twelfth longest in the world (144 km) and its rolling stock consists of 786 individual cars which is the largest in the world. The system carries more than 360 million passengers annually, the highest tram patronage in the world after Budapest. On a per capita basis, Prague has the second-highest tram patronage after Zürich.

The Prague tram system now operates various types of trams, including Tatra KT8D5, Škoda 14 T (designed by Porsche), newer modern low-floor electric Škoda 15 T and Škoda 52 T trams and Tatra T3 on nostalgic tram lines 23 and 41. Around 400 vehicles are the modernized T3 class, which are typically operated coupled together in pairs.

Funiculars

Petřín funicular links the Malá Strana district with the top of Petřín (Czech pronunciation: ) hill. The funicular has three stops: Újezd (at the bottom of the hill), Nebozízek (the middle station) and Petřín (at the top of the hill). The funicular operates daily from 9 am to 11:30 pm, with the interval being between 15 and 20 minutes.

There are also two other funiculars in Prague, not operated by the PID.

Ferries

Since 2005, the Regional Organiser of Prague Integrated Transport (ROPID) has franchised the operation of ferries on the Vltava river, which are also a part of the public transport system with common fares.

Taxis

Taxi services make pick-ups on the streets or operate from regulated taxi stands, most notably, Pařížská Street in the city centre of Prague. Taxi reputation in Prague is somewhat varied – there are examples of taxi drivers who target tourists with dishonest fare practices.. Uber operates in Prague.

Ticketing

All services (metro, tramways, city buses, funiculars, and ferries) have a common ticketing system that operates on a proof-of-payment system. Basic transfer tickets can be bought for 30 and 90-minute rides. Short-term tourist passes are available for periods of 24 hours or 3 days, and longer-term tickets can be bought on the smart ticketing system Lítačka, for periods of one month, three months, or one year. Since August 2021, people up to the age of 14 and over 65 can use Prague's public transport free of charge (proof of age is required). Persons between 15 and 18 years and between 60 and 64 years pay half price for single tickets and day tickets.