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(For current transportation schedules, see the Dopravní podník website: www.dp-praha.cz/en) Public transportation in Prague is easily accessible, efficient and inexpensive. It includes the metro (subway), buses, trams, and the funicular railway in Petřin Park. All of these forms are covered by one ticket system. You must purchase a ticket before you enter a transportation vehicle or enter the transportation area of the metro system. They are not available for sale on the vehicles (except busses.) There are three different types of transportation tickets:
Single ride tickets are available in Metro stations (either in the automated machines, or at some of the information windows in the stations), at some newspaper stands, at Prague Public Transit Information stations, in some hotels, and some department stores. These tickets come in two forms. One is a changeable ticket (přestupní) that allows you a certain amount of time on any form of transportation (60 minutes on the weekdays and 90 minutes on the weekends or after 20:00 on weekdays). These tickets cost 12 Kč for an adult (over age 15), and 6 Kč for a child (6-15 years). Children under age 6 are free.
The second kind of a single-ride ticket is a non-changeable ticket (nepřestupní). These allow you to travel 15 minutes for one ride on a bus or tram, without switching to another vehicle. On the metro, you can use this ticket to travel 4 stops, for a maximum of thirty minutes. The cost of the ticket is 8 Kč for an adult and 4 Kč for a child. These tickets are not good on the funicular railway in Petřin Park. To be valid, all single-ride tickets must be stamped in the stamping machines either before you enter the transportation area of the metro, or as you enter the trams or buses. These machines are found in the vestibule of the metro stations, and on the trams and buses.
Short-term tickets are available in periods of 24-hours, or 3, 7, or 15 days. You can buy the 24-hour passes in the automated ticket machines. The passes for longer amounts of time you can by at the Prague Transit Information Centers or at some windows in the Metro stations. These allow you unlimited travel on any type of public transportation for the time period of the pass.
These passes also must be stamped in the machines at the beginning of your first trip to be valid, and the time begins at the moment of stamping. In addition, the information on the back of the pass must be filled in for the pass to be valid. A 24-hour ticket is 70 Kč, a 3-day pass is 180 Kč, a 7-day pass is 250 Kč, and a 15-day pass is 280 Kč.
Long-term passes are available in lengths of one month, three months, or one year. You can buy these passes at metro station windows, or at the Transit Information Centers. You must have a passport-sized picture for these passes. When you first purchase this pass, you will get a plastic sleeve, and a coupon for the length of time you choose. These coupons begin and end on a calendar date, and are not stamped in the machines. (You can buy a pass for a certain month, such as January, or for a three month period for January-March, etc.).
After you buy the plastic case, you can then just purchase the time coupons at metro station windows, the Public Transportation Information Centers, or some newspaper stands. The cost of a monthly pass is 380 Kč for adults and 90 Kč for children. A quarterly pass is 1000 Kč for adults and 250 Kč for children. An annual pass is 3400 Kč for adults.
Ticket Inspection: Your tickets can be checked at any time by a ticket inspector. These inspectors will either stand in the metro area, or check your pass on a metro wagon, tram, or bus. Inspectors are casually dressed, usually work in pairs, and are often men. The inspector will identify himself by showing you a small red and yellow badge. These are usually held in the palm of the inspector‘s hand, and the manner in which he shows it can be a bit suspicious if you do not realize what is happening. Often, people checked for the first time suspect that someone is trying to sell them something on the black market, and have a tendency to pull away from the inspector.
If you do not have your pass or have not completed the information required on your pass, you are obligated to pay a fine, which is 400--800 Kč, depending on whether you pay on the spot or not. If you do not have this amount, the inspector can ask for a form of identification (passport or long-term visa) to write you a ticket for the fine. If you doubt this person is a genuine inspector, you can ask to see his service card (služební průkaz). The inspector is obligated to show you this, which will have his picture, along with a number that will match the number on his badge.
Manners: You do not have to pay to take a stroller on public transportation, providing you have a baby in it. The end of the last cars on the metro trains are designated for strollers. The best place to enter with a stroller is either the back or the middle of a tram or bus. It is marked on the outside of the vehicle next to the appropriate door. It is cutomary to signal the driver of a tram (by a hand wave) when you are intending to get on the tram with your stroller. When you intend to exit a bus or tram with your stroller, you must signal the driver by pushing the button above the door twice. On some of the newer trams, this black button is at knee level by the last seat at the back of the tram (on the side of the tram opposite the door).
It is customary to give your seat up for elderly or disabled travelers and pregnant women, while saying, “Sedněte sí prosím.”
Metro: There are three lines in the metro network, each designated by a letter and color: A – the green line (Skalka-Dejvická), B – the yellow line (Černy Most-Zličín), and C – the red line (Ladví-Háje). There are three transfer stations: Muzeum (A and C), Florenc (B and C) and Můstek (A and B). Metro trains run from approximately 5:00 to 24:00.
Trams: Schedules are posted at each stop. The stop underlined is where you are standing. There is a weekday schedule with all trams running from 4:30-22:30 every day. On weekday mornings and afternoons, trams run every 6-8 minutes during peak hours and every 10-12 minutes during off hours. Special night trams, numbered 51-58, run every 40 minutes after midnight. Timetables are separate schedules for Saturdays (sobota) and Sundays (neděle).
Buses: Bus schedules are similar to tram schedules. Night buses are indicated by blue numbers (501-512) and like trams, run every 40 minutes after midnight. For 200 and 300 numbered buses, which service areas just on the edges of the city, you must enter at the front door and show your pass.
Funicular: The Újezd-Petřín funicular is connected to the tram system at the Újezd stop and operates daily from 9:15-20:45. Regular public transit tickets including monthly and quarterly passes are valid for the funicular.
For more information on traveling on Prague’s public transportation system, refer to the Guide to Public Transit in Prague, available in English at the Transportation Information Centers. These are located in the Muzeum metro stop, in the Můstek metro vestibule on Line B of the metro beneath Jungmannovo Náměstí, at Nádraží Holešovice, and in the Karlovo Naměstí metro vestibule beneath Palackého Náměstí.