Prague Public Transport

What is Prague’s public transport like?

Prague’s public transport system is one of the best in the world. There is 24-access to some form of transport, with certain lines and certain modes running during the day and others at night. This allows locals and visitors to access the city and all of it’s wonders all day and all night.

How do you use Prague’s public transport system?

To use the public transport in Prague all you need to do is buy a ticket before you board the tram, bus or metro and validate your ticket once on board. This is very important to know as you can enter all of these methods of transport without passing through a traditional turnstile but once on board, if you do not validate the ticket, there is a heavy fine which will be imposed on you immediately by the transit authorities.

Some of the tram and bus lines have recently been equipped with ticket and payment machines on board, meaning that you can enter the bus or tram and pay for a ticket with a debit or credit card directly there but you will still need to validate the ticket once it has been printed by the machine. Any ticket possessed by a traveler which is NOT validated will be seen as a violation of the law and that person will suffer the consequences.

How to buy tickets for Prague’s public transport?

There are yellow ticket vending machines (with English) at all metro stations as well as at most of the tram and bus stops, so there are plenty of places where to buy a ticket for the Prague public transport.

You can also buy tickets at small shops such as Tabák/Trafika stores and newsstands such as Relay, and in tourist information centers or from the ticket windows at all metro stations from a worker.

If you have a working phone with credit on it, you can buy short-term tickets directly via SMS by sending the text message “DPT24” or “DPT32” or “DPT110” or “DPT310” to the number 902 06. You will receive confirmation of the payment within several minutes and this will serve as your proof of purchase should you be asked to show it.

Long-term tickets (30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months or 1 year) are only sold as specific locations including several metro stations and the Prague Public Transit Central Office at Na Bojišti 5, Prague 2 (near the I. P. Pavlova metro station). Please note that these ticket offices at the metro are generally open Monday – Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and are closed on national holidays. The only ticket offices that remain open during off-peak hours and holidays are: Prague Airport, Můstek, Anděl, Hlavní nádraží (main train station).