Prague - mecca for the Tatra T3 tram
Prague - using Public Transport
Using public transport in Prague is pretty easy. The metro, all the trams, all the red and white buses, and even the Petrin funicular, are operated by city-owned Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy. Tickets are transferable when you have to change, and can even be used on many of the local rail services operated by Czech Railways (ČD). Normally you buy your tickets from a machine or one of the information offices; best value are tickets for 1, 3 or 5 days.
The operator's comprehensive website is www.dpp.cz, which has a lot of information in English and German as well as Czech (click on the flags top right). The website includes a range of maps showing metro, tram and bus services. If necessary you can also find detailed timetables and there is also a Journey Planner.
Fares and tickets
The DPP website has a full chart of fares in English. Basically, a single ticket costs 26 CZK and is valid for 75 minutes. You must validate your ticket in one of the yellow validators when you start your journey (near the doors on board trams and buses, or at the entrance to metro platforms). You can change between modes, for example from metro to tram or bus or vice versa, as many times as necessary within the time limit. Day tickets only need to be validated the first time you make a journey and are valid for 24 hours (price 100 CZK). 3-day tickets are valid for 72 hours and cost 330 CZK; 5-day tickets are valid for 120 hours and cost 500 CZK.
For short journeys there is a cheaper ticket costing 18 CZK which allows 20 minutes travel on tram or bus without changing. On the metro you can travel up to 5 stations from where you started, and can change stations as long as you do not exceed 30 minutes overall. This is not valid on the funicular, ferries or night services.
Public transport in Prague operates as an open system, meaning that there is no need to show your ticket unless requested. You can therefore board trams and buses at any door, and there are no entry barriers at metro stations. You do need to remember to validate your ticket, however. Roving inspectors are likely to ask to see your ticket, and hefty fines are imposed for travellers without a correctly validated ticket.
Where to buy tickets
Ticket machines are located at metro stations and principal tram stops. They are easy to use and have instructions in English. You can buy 24-hour tickets from the machines as well as single tickets, but for 3 and 5-day tickets you may have to visit a DPP information centre or the ticket office at a metro station. If you are arriving at the airport there are DPP information centres in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, both open from 0700 to 2200 every day. If arriving at the main railway station (Praha hlavní), the kiosk on the main concourse may be open, but failing that it is only a 600 metre walk (or one stop on the metro) to the main DPP information office in the underpass at Muzeum metro station, open daily 0700 to 2100. To get there, turn left outside the main station and head for the front of the distinctive Muzeum building with the domed tower. Entrances to the metro are close by, designated by an M symbol.
A Prague ticket machine
As well as tickets, the information centres sell a very nice detailed transport map (plán města Praha) and also have basic give-away maps, including an English version "Getting Around Prague: metro tram bus", which includes details of fares and how to use the system. A further free booklet with a similar title "Getting around Prague, Welcome to Prague" has information in 10 languages. There is also a range of books and models aimed at enthusiasts. Other information centres are situated at the metro stations of Mustek, Anděl, and Nádraží Holešovice; these open 0700 to 2100 on Mondays to Fridays, and 0930 to 1700 on Saturdays.
Airport Services
The Airport Express bus service from Prague Airport to Prague main station (Praha hlavní) is operated by DP Praha on behalf of Czech Railways and normal fares do not apply on this service. The single fare is 50 CZK (children aged 6 to 15 pay 30 CZK). The service (also known as AE) runs every 30 minutes and takes 40-50 minutes. At Praha hlavní the service leaves from stop B1.
Other bus services to the airport are covered by the normal tariff - the most common way of reaching Prague from the airport is to use bus 119 from the airport to Dejvická (where it terminates). Here you can transfer to metro line A. Bus 119 runs every 7 minutes (every 10 minutes during the evenings) and takes around 25 minutes to Dejvická. An alternative is to use bus route 100 from the airport to Zličín (where it terminates); here you can transfer to metro line B. Bus 100 runs every 15 minutes (every 30 minutes evenings and weekends) and takes around 20 minutes to Zličín.
Other bus services run between the airport and various suburban areas in western Prague. There is also a night bus every 30 minutes. The DPP website has further information about travel to and from the airport.
Peripheral Fare Zones
Most visitors to Prague don't need to worry about fare zones as the standard Prague tariff includes all metro and tram services, as well as bus services right out into the suburbs, including the airport. You only need to pay extra if you are travelling beyond the immediate suburbs of Prague into the surrounding country area. The standard Prague tariff covers two zones, P and 0, the latter being a border zone between the Prague zone and the peripheral zones, which are numbered 1 to 5. Actually, zone 0 consists of two zones for the purposes of single tickets (0 and B) but counts as one for tickets valid for 24 hours or more.
The peripheral zones cover a large area surrounding Prague going out to places such as Beroun, Kladno, Lysá nad Labem and Milovice. An integrated fare system known as PID (Pražská Integrovaná Doprava or Prague Integrated Transport) operates throughout the whole of the area, administered by an organisation known as Ropid. The Ropid website has an English version, including maps and fares. A day ticket covering Prague and all five peripheral zones costs 150 CZK.
The use of ČD trains with PID tickets is a little complicated as only certain railway lines are fully integrated into the fare system - these are shown in blue on the zonal map. Single journey PID tickets can be used on these sections of line as well as day and season tickets. If you are mainly using rail services, then you should consider the good value regional and national passes offered by Czech Railways.
