Prague public transit will increase fare for individual tickets from August

Prices for individual tickets in the Prague Integrated Transport (PID) system will increase as of Aug. 1, but monthly and annual coupons will remain the same, Prague City Hall decided.

The PID system includes metro trains, commuter trains, trams, buses, ferries, and funiculars in Prague and the Central Bohemia region.

A ticket for 30 minutes will increase to CZK 30 from CZK 24 and a 90-minute ticket rises to CZK 40 from CZK 32. SMS tickets will also become more expensive, with a 30-minute pass rising to CZK 31 from CZK 24 to 31 and a 90-minute pass to CZK 42 from CZK 32. The reason is the rising costs of public transport.

He added that the increase in fares was proposed by the representatives of the Central Bohemia region’s TOP 09, Pirates, ODS, and STAN political groups. The rise in price is criticized by the Prague opposition, which says it is another rise in price of life in Prague.

Prague subsidizes PID with more than CZK 15 billion a year. The Central Bohemian region pays additional money for public transport on its territory. In 2015, the previous Prague City Hall administration reduced the price of the annual public transport coupon from the original CZK 4,750 to the current CZK 3,650 in an effort to increase ridership and reduce the number of people riding without paying, as ridership relies largely on the honor system.

The percentage of costs covered by ticket sales in Prague is constantly decreasing due to the increasing amount of transportation available, the development of infrastructure, and various fare discounts. Prague has been investing in a new fleet of electric buses and trolleybuses, renovating and adding new tram tracks, renovating metro stations with new escalators, and building the new Metro D line into the southern part of the city.

“If we adjust costs and revenues for the effects of the coronavirus crisis, the coverage of costs by revenues in 2020 would be only 19 percent,” the fare increase document approved by the City Councilor said.

“I am glad that the cooperation between Prague and the Central Bohemia region really works compared to previous years. The increase in fares is only one piece in the mosaic of restructuring a sustainable public transport system, which will see the development of rail, trolleybus, and tram transport between Prague and the Central Bohemian region in the coming years. And we have to finance this development somehow, Central Bohemia Councilor Petr Borecký (STAN), said.

In addition to raising the price of single tickets, the councilors also approved lower fares for people in material need. They would pay CZK 165 for a monthly fare and CZK 444 for a quarterly fare. According to estimates, there are about 5,500 such people in Prague, some of them seniors.

The discount for people in material need helps to fulfill a policy by the Pirates, the largest party in the City Hall coalition. They pointed out that some people could not afford annual passes all at once, and the cost of 12 monthly passes at, at CZK 550 each, was much higher.

The opposition movement ANO wanted to see cost savings on the side of public transit rather than a fare increase that affects riders.

After increases in rent, water, and waste collection, this is another cost impacting on people, according to ANO. “The dramatic increase in one-off fare for all Praguers is hardly offset by the discount for people in material need, of whom there are about 5,500 in Prague, although it is certainly a good deed. We expected the coalition to introduce significant operational savings in the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP),” Ondřej Prokop, deputy chairman of the ANO bloc in City Assembly, said.

Last year, the media reported that the current city management wanted to raise the price of the annual coupon again, perhaps up to CZK 5,500. Deputy Mayor Scheinherr confirmed today to the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that the city is not planning such an increase.