More than half of Prague residents would welcome metro services running later into the night, according to a new public opinion survey.

Yet despite the support, extending operations beyond the current schedule presents practical challenges for the city’s transport system.

At present, the three lines of the Prague Metro stop running shortly after midnight. The final trains depart around a quarter to one in the morning. A survey commissioned by the ANO movement found that 57 percent of respondents support extending metro operations, potentially until around 1 a.m.

The research, conducted by the STEM/MARK agency, surveyed 805 people about their experience with Prague’s public transport. Participants were asked to evaluate daytime and nighttime intervals between connections, vehicle capacity, and the cleanliness of stops and trains.

Overall satisfaction with the system exceeded fifty percent in most categories. Nighttime service intervals received weaker ratings. Eight percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with nighttime intervals, while 43 percent said they were rather satisfied.

Twenty-two percent reported being rather dissatisfied and five percent very dissatisfied. The remaining participants said they could not assess the issue.

Despite the mixed evaluation of nighttime service, many residents still favor keeping the metro running later, especially on evenings when people tend to stay out longer.

However, officials from the Prague Public Transit Company warn that extending operations is not straightforward. The overnight shutdown of the metro network plays a key role in maintenance and repairs across the system.

“The nighttime interruption of metro operations is absolutely essential for maintaining and repairing the technology used throughout the network,” said Jan Barchánek, the company’s transport director, during a public discussion on the issue.

According to Barchánek, much of the maintenance work is scheduled during overnight shifts. More than half of the work to replace railway sleepers is carried out at night. On Line A, the share exceeds 90 percent.

If the overnight break were shortened or removed, many maintenance tasks would need to be moved to evenings or weekends. That could lead to a higher number of planned closures and disruptions for passengers.

Even so, some city politicians believe the proposal deserves further analysis. Ondřej Prokop, head of the ANO movement in Prague, has called for a study examining both the costs and the operational options for extending metro hours.

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