Prague Public Transport Ranks Second Best in World, It Does Not Rest on Its Laurels

At the beginning of April 2023, the Time Out travel magazine published the results of its survey it conducted with 20,000 residents of 50 world metropolises exploring their satisfaction with public transport in their city. In the competition of developed world municipalities, Prague ranked second and fell behind the winning Berlin by only one percentage point.

To identify the world's metropolises with the best public transport, Time Out asked city dwellers a single question: "Is it easy to get around your city by public transport?" A total of 96% of Prague citizens answered positively, while in victorious Berlin it was 97%. Another confirmation of the popularity of public transport in Prague has been provided by data obtained from a survey conducted in 2021 and published in the Transport Yearbook of the Technical Road Administration of the City of Prague. According to them, up to 59% of the inhabitants of Prague and its surroundings preferred public transport to transport by car during their trips.

Passengers of Prague public transport appreciate not only the comfort and accuracy, but also the fact that this sort of transport is also very financially affordable. If the passenger is also a holder of an annual card – the so-called Lítačka – then their average daily fare corresponds to only ten Czech crowns. If passengers decide to use a single fare ticket, it will cost them CZK 30 for a 30-minute ride. The most cost-effective – entirely free – is the ride for registered delegates of large international association congresses. Organizers of such meetings can apply for free congress tickets through the Prague Convention Bureau. All you have to do is fill in the application and demonstrate your compliance with a set of defined criteria.

By modernizing equipment and vehicles and by continuously expanding the lines, the Transportation Company strives to improve travelling in and around the capital city. Thanks to the gradual construction of lifts and platforms in the older stations (in the new stations they have already been included in the construction projects), at the end of 2022 76% of metro stations have been barrier-free, and the removal of barriers continues. In the same year, 70% of tram and 85% of bus connections were accessible without barriers. Newly purchased vehicles are not only accessible to passengers with limited motion abilities, but they also represent a significantly lower environmental burden.

Currently, the construction of the metro D line has been underway for almost a year, with a date of planned completion due at the end of the decade.  In 2022, a new tram line was put into operation on the southern outskirts of Prague, and over 40 km more are currently in various stages of preparation, such as ongoing construction on the northern and south-eastern edges. A big change will be represented by the return of trams to the closest city centre: the Wenceslas Square. After 50 years, trolleybuses have returned to Prague and more than 10 new lines are currently being built or prepared, one of which will connect the airport with metro line A. In addition to the increasing number of lines and means of transport, the replacement of old bus stop shelters with newly designed constructions, and the test operation of the new navigation system at stops and stations throughout Prague are in full swing.

Prague's investment in continuous modernization generates justified prerequisites that this system will be appreciated by both residents and visitors of the Czech capital in the next passenger satisfaction survey and, above all, that the share of people using this type of transport will grow even more in the future. The city has also committed to this by adopting the Climate Plan for 2045, when Prague's public transport should transport 150 million more passengers annually than in 2019, when it transported 1.4 billion passengers, and at the same time it should reduce the consumption of fossil fuels by 17%.