Bus services in Prague are provided by a number of transport operators, the chief of which is Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy, a.s.. Almost all city and suburban buses are run as part of the Pražská integrovaná doprava network, under the management of the regional organizing agency ROPID.
History
The first buses in Prague were operated experimentally in 1908 in the Malá Strana district, but the unreliable technology at the time led to the trial service being declared a failure after 20 months. Regular services did not begin again until 20 June 1925, but have been in continuous operation ever since that date. In the 1990s and 2000s, the metropolitan system was expanded and integrated with suburban transport as Prague Integrated Transport, although a few areas remain outside this system. Buses fulfil many different roles in Prague's public transport system. Many lines serve as connections between the metro, tram, and rail systems and outlying residential areas. There are also plans to gradually introduce trunk services, similar to Latin America's bus rapid transit systems. Main terminals of metropolitan buses are near metro stations: Černý Most, Zličín, Háje, Letňany, Nové Butovice, Želivského, Českomoravská, Kačerov, Budějovická, Depo Hostivař, Dejvická, Na Knížecí, Skalka, Palmovka, Nádraží Holešovice, Florenc etc. Some suburban and long-distance buses stop at these stations. The main stations of long-distance buses are, Černý Most and Zličín. Since 2008, ROPID is implementing a plan to differentiate rachial lines with small intervals and articulated buses. Some telematic systems are widely implemented. From 2016 the buses in Prague have an average speed of 25,3 km/h.
Route numbers
Bus lines belonging to the PID system are numbered within number series:
letter X with number of tram line or metro line letter are used for occasional substitute lines. Internally numbered in the 800 series. Some substitute lines are numbered in 700 series.
700 series: some temporary local lines with non-standard financing
Outside the PID system:
700 series: special lines
shopping lines: marked in different ways, all free of charge
ZOO line with symbolic fare
suburban lines of SID organized by Central Bohemian Region. Several attempts to integrate PID and SID are so far unsuccessful. Marked with combinations of one letter and two digits, e. g. D97.
other lines outside integrated systems, mostly intercity and long-distance public lines, with small importance to city transport
non-public lines
Operators
Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy a. s., most of metropolitan PID lines and several tens of suburban PID lines. DPP has 5 big bus depots in Prague: Klíčov, Vršovice, Kačerov, Hostivař, Řepy
Arriva Transport Česká republika, a. s.: ca 9 metropolitan PID lines and 50 suburban PID lines, some SID lines and non-integrated lines. The main bus depot is in Vršovice.
