Prague's major public transport operator is The Capital City of Prague Transport Company - Dopravni podnik hlavniho mesta Prahy, or DPP for short. It operates the metro (underground), trams, buses, the Petřín Hill funicular railway and the chairlift system at Prague Zoo. The network is quite busy and carries almost 3 million passengers daily.
DPP Public transport is frequent, punctual, clean and safe. The different types of transport are very well integrated. Everything is logically laid out and clearly signed making the system very easy to understand. On-board displays and announcements on metro trains, trams and buses make missing a required stop very unlikely.
Although fares have increased rapidly in recent years they are still good value compared with other European cities and offer dramatic savings compared with taxis and airport transfer services.
Metro
The Prague Metro network consists of three lines designated by letters and represented by colour:
- Green Line A (Dejvická - Depo Hostivař)
- Yellow Line B (Zličín - Černý Most)
- Red Line C (Letňany ‑ Háje)
Line A is the most popular with tourists as it serves Prague Castle (Malostranska), The Old Town (Staromestska), Wenceslas Square (Mustek, Muzeum) as well as connecting with bus 119 to/from the airport at Dejvická .
You can transfer between lines at Můstek station (lines A and B), Muzeum station (lines A and C) and Florenc station (lines B and C).
Hours of operation are daily from 5am to 12 midnight. The time interval between train departures is approximately 2-3 minutes during the weekday rush hours and 4-10 minutes during the off-peak.
Trams
Most surface transportation in the City Centre and inner districts is by way of tram. The wide choice of routes and frequent stops make them a convenient choice for many journeys and they are a good way of seeing the city. In recent years low floor trams have started to enter service making trams a more practical choice for those with mobility problems.
Daytime operation is from 4:30am to 12 midnight. Special night trams (numbers 51 through 59) run on a 30 minute frequency between 12 midnight and 4:30am. The hub of the night tram network is the Lazarská stop in Nové Město.
Buses
Buses tend to serve only the outlying areas of the city and so are not used much by tourists. The exceptions are bus 119 which connects the airport with Dejvická metro station on line A and bus 100 which connects the airport with Zličín metro station on line B. The daytime and night time operation of buses is similar to tram operation. Night time service is provided by buses 502-514 and 601-603.
Tickets
- 18 Kč - Limited Ticket - Valid for five stations (max 30 minutes) when using the metro or 20 minutes on tram/bus (no transfers allowed). Not valid on the funicular railway.
- 26 Kč - Basic Ticket - Valid for 75 minutes on metro, tram, bus and funicular railway. Transfers allowed.
- 100 Kč - Valid for 24 hours on metro, tram, bus and funicular railway. Transfers allowed. Luggage included.
- 330 Kč - Valid for 72 hours on metro, tram, bus and funicular railway. Transfers allowed. Luggage included. One child aged 6-15 can travel free with the fare paying adult but otherwise this ticket is not value for money.
- 500 Kč - Valid for 120 hours on metro, tram, bus and funicular railway. Transfers allowed. Luggage included. One child aged 6-15 can travel free with the fare paying adult but otherwise this ticket is not value for money.
N.B. If you buy the 18 Kč or 26 Kč ticket and your luggage has dimensions greater than 25 x 45 x 70 cm, is a tube-shaped item longer than 150 cm with a diameter greater than 20 cm, or is a tablet-shaped item larger than 100 x 100 x 5 cm then you will need to buy an additional 13 Kč ticket.
Concessions - Children under 6 travel free of charge. For children between 6 and 15 tickets valid up to 24 hours can be bought at half price, i.e. 9 Kč , 13 Kč and 50 Kč respectively. Student and Pensioners can buy the same tickets at half price but Czech documents will be required making it difficult for tourists to access these concessions in practice.
Passes
Passes are only worth considering if you are staying in Prague for more than a week. Prices start at 550 Kč for 30 days. 90 and 365 day passes are also available. To take advantage of these fares you will need to also buy a photo id card at additional cost or pay extra for the flexibility of a transferable pass (i.e. one not tied to a single individual).
Where to buy Tickets and Passes
1. The full range of tickets, passes, maps, timetables etc. are available at the following DPP Information Centres which sport multilingual staff:
- Metro/Tram/Bus kiosks at Ruzyně Airport, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 arrival halls.
- Holešovice Train Station
- Muzeum metro station
- Anděl metro station
- Prague City Hall, Jungmannova 29
2. Most Metro stations have a staffed window where tickets, and sometime passes, can be purchased.
3. Ticket vending machines at public transport stops dispense single tickets, but only accept coins in payment.
4. An extensive agency network of newsagents, hotels, tour operators etc also sell tickets valid for up to five days.
5. If you have a mobile phone with a Czech SIM card you can purchase a 26 CZK ticket by texting "DPT" to 902 06 26.
Validation and Inspection
All tickets must be “validated” which means that you must insert them into the yellow stamping machine inside trams and buses or at the metro stations when you first use it. Tickets do not need to be re-stamped when transferring services or starting a new journey within the validity period.
Passes for 30 days and above do not need to be validated.
Plain Clothes Ticket inspectors, identified by an official badge, regularly check passengers and are authorised to fine a passenger without a valid ticket up to 950Kč (reduced to 500Kč if paid on the spot) so carry your ticket with you at all times.
