Getting Around
Public Transport in Prague
Using public transport in Prague is pretty easy. The metro, all the trams, the city buses, and even the Petřín funicular, are operated by city-owned Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy known as DPP. Tickets are transferable (within the specified time period) between trams, buses and the metro, and with a 24 or 72 hour ticket you have complete freedom to hop on and off public transport all day, only requiring to validate the ticket once at the start of the 24 or 72 hour period. Some tickets are also valid on the Petřín funicular and on local trains. If you are over 65 you travel free within Prague provided you carry your passport or other photo ID!
An exception is the Airport Express (AE) bus service between the airport and the main railway station Praha hlavní, which is operated on behalf of Czech Railways. Normal public transport tickets are not valid on this bus, but you can buy a separate ticket from the driver or as an add-on to a railway ticket. See the Airport page for further details.
MAPS of the metro, tram and bus networks are available on the PID website to view or download. There is also a map showing the Realtime Location of each vehicle - click on the individual dots for more information.
TIMETABLES are organised by the type of transport then by route number - click on Linkovy Jizdni Rad to get a full timetable for the route in pdf format, or click on a stop name to get timings from that stop.
SEARCH FOR A CONNECTION is the Journey Planner where you input origin and destination to search for the best connections.
PID stands for Pražská Integrovaná Doprava, the co-ordinated system for all public transport in Prague and the wider region. Similar information for Prague can be found on the DPP website.
Prague Fares - Adults
In Prague itself, so-called short-term tickets are available for four different periods of validity: 30 minutes (30 CZK), 90 minutes (40 CZK), 24 hours (120 CZK), or a 3-day ticket valid for 72 hours (330 CZK). All tickets are transfer tickets, which means you can change between modes, for example from metro to tram or bus or train or vice versa, as many times as necessary within the time limit. Included in this are local trains, night buses, and ferries. 24 and 72 hour tickets are also valid on the Petrin funicular (otherwise it costs 60 CZK each way). The Airport Express (AE) route requires separate tickets.
Visitors and enthusiasts may be interested in the monthly (30 days) transferable season ticket costing 1000 CZK, which does not require a photo or identity document, and can be passed on to other members of your family or group. Non-transferable monthly, quarterly and annual season tickets aimed at residents are also available from DPP enquiry offices; these require a chip card and photo (the monthly ticket costs 550 CZK). Full information is available on the PID website.
You must validate your ticket in one of the yellow validators when you start your first journey (near the doors on board trams and buses, or at the entrance to metro platforms). Note that you only validate your ticket once, so even the 3-day ticket should only be validated the first time you use it. The date and time stamped on your ticket when you validate it is the start time for the period of validity. You can therefore purchase your tickets in advance, so if you are staying for, say, four days, you could buy a three-day and a one-day ticket on arrival, validate the three-day ticket on your first journey, and save the one-day ticket for validating on your last day. Remember that the one-day and three-day tickets are valid for 24 and 72 hours respectively, so a one-day (24 hour) ticket validated at 1815 hrs on Friday will be valid until 1815 hrs on Saturday.
Tickets can be purchased from information centres at certain metro stations, yellow ticket machines at metro stations and some tram and bus stops, machines inside trams, and also through the PID app. Ticket machines inside trams only accept contactless credit and debit cards, and you should buy your ticket immediately on boarding; the ticket is valid straight away and does not need to be placed in the validator.
Note that larger items of luggage (over 25x45x70 cm) require a ticket costing 20 CZK.
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. However, you do need to remember to validate your ticket on first use. Roving inspectors are likely to ask to see your ticket, and hefty fines are imposed for travellers without a correctly validated ticket. Ticket inspectors may be in plain clothes and if you have any doubts about their authenticity you can ask to see their gold identity badge.
Photo: a ticket machine at the Airport bus stop outside Terminal 1 (click to enlarge)
Prague Fares - Children and Seniors
Children under 6 years travel free and must be accompanied by a person older than 10 years. Children aged 6 to 10 years travel free within Prague on trams, buses and the metro but not on trains. Children aged from 10 to 15 years travel free within Prague (not on trains) but must carry photo ID such as a passport or a PID pass.
Juniors aged 15 to 18 pay full fare if using short-term tickets, but there are discounts for season tickets. Accredited full-time students at Czech schools also qualify for season ticket discounts.
Seniors aged 60 to 65 travel at half fare but must carry photo ID such as a passport or PID pass. Seniors aged 65 and over travel free on trams, buses and the metro but not on trains, but must also carry photo ID such as a passport or PID pass.
The Prague Zone
The information shown above applies to the Prague Zone (zone P) which includes all metro and tram services, also urban bus routes 100-299, the funicular and ferries. Note however that the AE Airport Express bus is run on belhalf of Czech Railways and is not covered by the normal tariff. All stops in Prague are in zone P and you will normally see "P" displayed on board trams and buses (next to a clock) indicating the zone you are in.
Strictly speaking, tickets for Prague also include zones 0 and B which are border zones between Prague and the country area so you may see reference to your ticket being valid in "P+0+B".
Train services: except where shown above, tickets for the standard Prague tariff area (zones P+0+B) are also valid on local trains operated by Czech Railways (CD) or other railway companies, up to the zone boundary.Beyond Prague
The Prague region`s integrated fare system known as PID (Pražská Integrovaná Doprava or Prague Integrated Transport) extends well beyond Prague into the surrounding country area of Central Bohemia. PID calls these Suburban or Regional services, and fares and ticket validity in these zones are very different to the Prague zone. The PID is organised by an agency called ROPID.
The regional area is divided into 12 tariff zones numbered 1 to 12, stretching out to places such as Mlada Boleslav, Turnov, Kutná Hora, Dobriš, Beroun, Louny and Roudnice nad Labem. When travelling from Prague to the country area, the Prague zone "P+0+B" counts as four zones (i.e. P counts as two), so a journey from zone P to zone 7 actually requires a ticket for 11 zones.
A good value 24 hour ticket covering Prague plus the 12 outer zones (i.e. zones P,0,B,1-12) costs 240 CZK and can be purchased from many ticket machines as well as information offices (it includes the Petrin funicular as well). Tickets for fewer zones and shorter periods are available from railway stations and the drivers of suburban buses.
A full list of PID suburban fares is available on the PID website. Note that the rules for children and seniors are less generous than in the Prague zone; for example children aged 6 to 18 pay half fare, as do seniors from age 65 (free travel kicks in at age 70, with photo ID, but not on trains).
Suburban Buses: on suburban bus routes (lines 300 upwards) you can buy your ticket from the bus driver if you don't already have a valid ticket. State your destination and a ticket for the appropriate number of zones will be provided. Driver-issued tickets are valid from the time of issue and do not need to be validated by the passenger.
Train services: PID tickets valid in appropriate zones can be used on local railway lines as shown on the zonal map. Single journey PID tickets can be used on these lines as well as day and season tickets. The map also shows which stations have PID validating machines; if there isn`t one you can validate on board the train (by machine or by the conductor).
Information Centres
If you are arriving at the airport there are DPP information centres in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, open daily 0700-2100 (there are also ticket machines outside the terminal, as illustrated at the top of this page). If arriving at the main railway station (Praha hlavní), there is a staffed kiosk on the concourse (open 0600-2200), as well as ticket machines. The main DPP information office is at Mustek metro station (open daily 0700-2100). The information centres page on the DPP website has full details of locations and opening hours.
Railway stations: principal railway stations have ticket offices where of course you can buy tickets with coins or banknotes.
As well as the full range of tickets, the information centres usually have free maps of the metro and tram network, and sometimes sell more detailed transport maps including bus routes. Leaflets describing short-term changes due to engineering work are often available too. Some information centres carry a small range of items aimed at enthusiasts, such as books, models, photos, mouse mats, etc.