New Tram Stops Are Already Disappearing from the Streets of Prague

The Prague City Technology Company (THMP) has been installing new tram stop shelters throughout Prague over the past few months.

Since the project’s commencement in 2021, numerous old tram stop shelters have been replaced. However, some of these newly installed shelters are already being… dismantled.

According to THMP, the reason for this is “digitization”.

Czech daily iDnes reported that JCDecaux owned the tram stop shelters until mid-2021. Afterward, the city of Prague obtained them, and THMP initiated their modernization in December 2021 by placing the first redesigned tram stop shelter in Velká Ohrada.

The shelters’ shape was designed by studio Olgoj Chorchoj. They are made of dark aluminum and feature a screen that displays the stop’s name, current time, and departure information. The primary purpose of these shelters is to standardize the appearance of Prague’s tram stops and provide easier navigation for passengers.

The initial design also includes electrical connections for passengers to charge their phones. Additionally, tram stops with high traffic volumes are equipped with digital screens that display additional information, such as potential traffic accidents.

Prague paid 834.8 million CZK, including VAT, for the installation of the new tram stop shelters, with dozens already in place. The goal is to have approximately 700 shelters installed throughout Prague by the end of the year.

Nevertheless, some of these are now being removed to make way for the installation of digital screens, which will serve advertising purposes and provide additional information to passengers.

In the first phase of modernization, 30 shelters, including those at Šumavská and Právnická fakulta tram stops, will be removed, while a total of 185 tram stops are expected to have digital screens installed in the future.

These shelters had to be dismantled and transported back to the production plant. However, it remains unclear why fully digitized tram stop shelters could not be installed directly and why THMP decided to install new ones only to remove them shortly after for an upgrade.

Although the project is funded by the city of Prague, it is uncertain how much additional money the city will have to allocate for the removal and reinstallation of the tram stop shelters.