Prague Integrated Transport (PID) is a public transport system in Prague and its surroundings. It includes the metro, trams, railway, city and suburban buses, the Petřín funicular and selected ferries.[1] According to the website of its organiser ROPID, it was built up as a communal transport association following recommendations of the European Union.[1]
Territorial scope and aims
The system is gradually being developed in the territory of the capital city of Prague, in the Praha-východ and Praha-západ districts and in adjoining parts of other districts of the Central Bohemian Region that have strong transport links to Prague.[1] Its aim is to provide transport service to the area so that public transport can hold its own against individual transport. The organiser names time, price, comfort, reliability and safety as the decisive criteria of the system's appeal.[1]
Basic principles
According to ROPID, PID rests on several principles.[1]
- The unified regional system gives priority to rail-based transport (railway, metro, trams). Buses are organised mainly as feeder transport to terminals at rail stations.
- Passengers can combine a private car with public transport via P+R park-and-ride car parks at rail terminals, which lie on the edge of Prague and in its surroundings.
- A single transfer tariff applies: one ticket allows travel with the necessary transfers regardless of the mode of transport and the operator.
- The system is meant to create conditions for a competitive environment on the transport market while preserving coordination and cooperation among operators.
Developments in 2023
The historical overview on the PID website describes 2023 as a period when integration continued in the Central Bohemian Region and new rail infrastructure was added in Prague. In that year ROPID marked thirty years of its existence.[2]
In Prague, the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station reopened in November after a reconstruction lasting almost a year. The tram network grew by three sections. They run from Sídliště Modřany to Libuš, from Holyně to Slivenec and from Divoká Šárka to Dědina. Operation of trolleybus line 58 was extended, and a new bus line 104 linked Velká Chuchle and Barrandov. Night line 904 was extended from Stodůlky to Řepy.[2]
On the railway, the Praha-Rajská zahrada stop was put into operation in December, and Správa železnic completed the modernisation of the Vysočany and Radotín stations. When the modernisation of Smíchov railway station began, the pedestrian footbridge was removed and the Praha-Smíchov severní nástupiště stop was closed.[2]
Central Bohemian Region
The biggest changes in the Central Bohemian Region came in December 2023 in the Rakovník area, as part of the Čtyřmezí project, which connects the transport systems of four neighbouring regions. A PID line then reached as far as Karlovy Vary, and the validity of the PID tariff was extended to Žatec. Public transport in Příbram also joined the system in December.[2] New suburban lines were added, for example lines to Litoměřice (413), to Zdiby (411), to Jinočany (418) and to Tuchoměřice (414), as well as regional lines 672 and 856. Lines 774 and 862 were cancelled.[2] The number of request stops was also increased in selected towns, for example in Benešov, Kutná Hora, Slaný and Vlašim.[2]
Plans for 2024
According to the PID website, 2024 was expected to be a calmer period in terms of timetable changes. At the end of the year, newly selected operators are to start running bus lines in the Central Bohemian Region. On the railway, new electric and diesel trains and the city line S61 are expected, and trolleybuses are to run in full on line 58 and on the new line 59 to Václav Havel Airport Prague.[2]