Public transport in Prague

Overview

Prague's public transport is run by the Prague Public Transit Company (Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy, DPP) and organised under the Prague Integrated Transport system, known in Czech as Pražská integrovaná doprava (PID). The network brings together the metro, trams, buses and trolleybuses, ferries, the Petřín funicular and the chairlift inside Prague Zoo, plus suburban and regional trains and buses that reach well beyond the city. Since 1993 these modes have been linked with commuter trains and buses and with park-and-ride lots to form one extensive, zonally priced network.

Riding it end to end is straightforward. Buy a time-based ticket before you board, validate it once on your first vehicle or when you enter a metro station, and then travel as much as you like within the ticket's validity window. Transfers between buses, trolleybuses, the metro and trams cost nothing extra as long as your ticket has not expired, and you never re-stamp it. The metro itself lies entirely inside the central zone, so a Prague ticket covers it. Service generally runs from about 4–5 am until midnight, and a separate night network of trams and buses takes over in the small hours.

The network

The system is radial: each line runs through the city centre from termini in the outskirts, but the lines do not all meet at one central station. Instead the three metro lines form a triangle in the centre, with interchange stations at the three corners.

Metro (Pražské metro) — three colour-coded lines plus one under construction. Line A (green) runs from Depo Hostivař to Nemocnice Motol, with 17 stations over about 17 km. Line B (yellow) runs from Černý Most to Zličín, with 24 stations over about 26 km. Line C (red) runs from Letňany to Háje, with 20 stations over about 22 km. Line D is under construction. The three lines interchange at Můstek (A, B), Muzeum (A, C) and Florenc (B, C). End-to-end journeys take roughly 30–45 minutes. Trains run every 2–4 minutes at peak, up to about 10 minutes off-peak, and roughly every 20 minutes on Friday–Saturday and Saturday–Sunday nights.
Trams — the surface backbone of the city. Peak intervals are 8–10 minutes and 10–20 minutes off-peak, with night trams about every 30 minutes. Backbone lines 9, 17 and 22 run at roughly half those intervals (about 4 minutes at peak, 5–10 minutes off-peak). Vintage Tram 42 is recommended for sightseeing. Trams have right of way over pedestrians at crossings.
Buses and trolleybuses — you board and alight through all doors, and every stop is a request stop: press the button to get off, and stand visibly at the stop to be picked up. Peak intervals are 6–8 minutes, 15–30 minutes off-peak.
Ferries — DPP also manages five ferries across the Vltava as part of the integrated network.
Funicular and chairlift — the funicular to Petřín Hill and the chairlift inside Prague Zoo are part of the same operator's portfolio.
Suburban and regional rail — commuter trains connect with the metro and buses and extend the network beyond the city; this is most convenient when you are heading to Prague's outskirts.
Night service (approx. 0:30–4:30) — nine night tram lines numbered 91–99 run at a uniform 30-minute interval (20 minutes on Friday–Saturday and Saturday–Sunday nights) and all intersect at the central transfer stop Lazarská. Night buses (901–915) run every 30 minutes (20 minutes on weekend nights) or hourly.

Tickets & fares

All tickets are time- and zone-based: within the validity period you can make unlimited transfers and trips in the zones covered. Prague itself sits in zones 0/B, with zones 1–13 covering the wider Central Bohemian region. Prices below are approximate and change, so check current fares before you travel.

Short-term tickets (Prague, full fare, ages 15–60) — 30 minutes: 36 CZK via the Lítačka app or 39 CZK on paper; 90 minutes: 46 CZK app or 50 CZK paper; 24 hours: 140 CZK app or 150 CZK paper; 72 hours: 340 CZK app or 350 CZK paper. App prices are slightly lower than paper.
Discounts — half price for seniors aged 60–65 with proof of entitlement. Free travel for children under 6 accompanied by a person over 10, for children 6–15 with proof of age, for seniors 65 and over with proof of age, and for one adult accompanying a child under 3. Discounts require official ID showing name, photo and date of birth.
Prague subscription (long-term) passes — 1 month: 550 CZK full or 130 CZK half; 3 months: 1,480 or 360 CZK; annual: 3,650 or 1,280 CZK. Half price applies to ages 15–18, full-time students 18–26 with a study certificate, and seniors 60–65. Anonymous (transferable, one passenger at a time) passes cost 1,000 CZK for a month, 2,700 CZK for three months or 7,800 CZK annually, with no discounted versions.
Regional tickets (outside Prague) — single regional tickets are full fare for ages 18–60 and half fare for children 6–15, adolescents 15–18, students 18–26 and seniors 65+, with proof. Group (family) day tickets are valid only in the outer PID zones, not within Prague, and last until 4:00 the next day: 1 adult plus up to 2 children under 15 costs 190 CZK in the app or 210 CZK on paper; 2 adults plus up to 4 children under 15 costs 370 or 400 CZK. Regional subscription passes are priced by the number of adjacent zones (1–6, all zones 1–13, or 0/B plus 1–13) with monthly, quarterly, 10-month and annual options, electronic or paper, and half-price versions for eligible groups — for example, one zone monthly is 474 CZK electronic or 494 CZK paper at full fare. Anonymous regional passes are also available (for one zone: 636 CZK monthly, 1,614 CZK quarterly, 6,060 CZK annually), with no discounted versions.
Funicular — the 30- and 90-minute tickets are not valid on the Petřín funicular, which has a special single ticket costing 100 CZK at the station or 90 CZK in the Lítačka app. The funicular is included free with a 24-hour or 72-hour Prague ticket, a Prague long-term pass, a free-travel entitlement or a Prague Visitor Pass.
Airport Express — this service has its own separate fare and is not covered by ordinary PID tickets.

You must buy your ticket before boarding and validate (stamp) it once on first use — in the vehicle on trams, buses and ferries, or in the transport space when entering the metro or funicular. Re-stamping invalidates the ticket. Tickets bought from a contactless terminal on a tram or bus need no validation. Contactless terminals are found in the middle of every tram, near the second door on buses, and at metro stations and some surface stops (some are coin-only). Card payment is not available in metro carriages. You can buy tickets from machines at stops and metro stations, ticket offices and information centres, České dráhy counters, on trams, buses, trolleybuses, suburban buses and trains, through the PID Lítačka app, and at newsagents and shops.

On luggage and animals: small luggage up to 25×45×70 cm, animals in crates, prams and bicycles are allowed on the metro, ferries, the Petřín funicular and specified tram sections at set times. A dog travels free with a valid travel document within Prague (except on PID trains and the Airport Express line), and must wear a muzzle and be kept on a short leash if not crated.

From the airport

Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) lies about 20 km north-west of the city centre, and public transport gets you in by bus or trolleybus to a metro station and onward, for a total travel time of roughly 35–45 minutes. Tickets are valid across buses, the metro and trams, and can be bought at kiosks called Metro • Tram • Bus in the arrivals halls (07:00–21:00, credit cards accepted) or faster at the yellow vending machine next to the bus stop outside both terminals (cards accepted). A 90-minute ticket is required for travel to the city centre (50 CZK from January 2026); a 24-hour ticket costs 150 CZK. Children under 15 and seniors 65 and over travel free. You can transfer between buses, trolleybuses, the metro and trams at no extra charge as long as your ticket has not expired. Airport bus stops are called "Terminál 1" or "Terminál 2".

Trolleybus 59 to metro station Nádraží Veleslavín (Line A), about 17 minutes. Departures every 3–5 minutes, every 10 minutes on Sunday morning and every evening, from 04:23 to 23:32. This is the main and generally fastest connection.
Bus 100 to metro station Zličín (Line B), about 18 minutes. Departures every 15 minutes, every 20 minutes on Sunday morning and every evening, from 05:40 to 23:16.
Bus 191 to Na Knížecí bus station (Anděl, Line B) — a slower and less frequent bus, though useful for the western part of town including the Anděl area. It also connects to metro Line A at Petřiny.
Night buses 910 and 907 — the only options at night. The 910 goes directly to the centre, stopping at Jiráskovo náměstí, Karlovo náměstí and I.P. Pavlova. It runs every 30 minutes and takes about 42 minutes from the I.P. Pavlova stop.
Airport Express (AE) — leaves from the public bus stop "Terminál 1" every 15 minutes from 08:00 to 18:00, every 30 minutes at other times and hourly at night. Tickets cost 200 CZK, are not transferable and are not valid on any other service, and are available from the driver (contactless accepted). The final stop is Prague's main train station, Hlavní nádraží (Line C), commonly abbreviated in Czech as "Praha hl.n.". Its high price and low frequency make it less attractive than trolleybus 59, though it offers a direct, non-stop connection to the central train station.

By taxi, Uber Airport Taxi has an exclusive contract with the airport, with black or white limousines waiting in front of the arrival halls of both terminals; order through the app or self-service kiosks at baggage claim and nearby airport exits. Beware of touts in front of the airport wearing "Official Airport Taxi" or "Info" clothing, who may direct you to a taxi with a rigged meter. A fare from the airport to the city centre should normally be around 700 Kč. If you plan to explore beyond Prague, several rental companies have desks on the ground floor of Parking C. Regiojet intercity buses also stop in front of Terminal 1 on the route to Karlovy Vary.

Etiquette & customs

Validate honestly — buy before boarding and stamp your ticket once on first use. Re-stamping invalidates it, and tickets from contactless terminals on trams and buses need no validation at all.
Request stops — on buses and trolleybuses every stop is a request stop. Press the button to alight, and stand visibly at the stop so the driver knows to pick you up. Board and alight through all doors.
Escalators — Prague's metro escalators are conventionally used with standing passengers keeping to the right and walkers passing on the left, so leave the left side clear if you are not walking.
Priority seating — give up priority seats to older passengers, pregnant travellers and those with reduced mobility or small children, and keep the space clear during busy periods.
Eating and drinking — keep food and drink off the vehicles and out of the metro; it is not the custom to consume them while riding.
Rush hour — trains come every 2–4 minutes at peak, so let passengers off before you board and move down the platform and into the carriage rather than blocking doors.
Night travel — night trams all meet at the central transfer stop Lazarská, which makes late-night connections easy; night buses run less frequently, so check times before you set out.
Watch for multiple exits — many metro stations are large with several entrances spaced far apart, which can confuse newcomers. A new wayfinding system called Legible Prague is being rolled out in phases across the city and its public transport to help.

Official links

Survival terms

metro / subway — metro (metro)
ticket — jízdenka (YEEZ-den-ka)
line — linka (LIN-ka)
entrance — vstup (vstup)
exit — východ (VEE-khod)
transfer — přestup (PRZHEH-stup)
single fare — jednotlivé jízdné (YED-not-lee-veh YEEZD-neh)
day pass — denní jízdenka (DEN-nee YEEZ-den-ka)

Before you travel, download the PID Lítačka app so you can buy slightly cheaper tickets and check live connections, and remember to stamp any paper ticket once on your very first ride.