Prague Plans to Charge Non-Residential Vehicles to Transit Its City Centre

Prague, in cooperation with the Prague 1 district, plans to charge non-residents entry fees for driving through the city’s historical center. 

The aim is to reduce excessive traffic passing through the center and to calm the traffic, as stated by the deputy mayor for transport, Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates), and the mayor of the first district, Terezie Radoměřská (TOP 09), during a debate on transport in Prague 1 on Wednesday.

The measure could be implemented at the beginning of next year, but the details are still under discussion. There are also plans to restrict visitor parking in the center.

According to Hřib, the current municipal management and Prague 1 have reached an agreement on charging fees instead of completely closing some areas to transit.

“It’s a softer measure, but it pursues the same goal,” he said. Radoměřská confirmed his words, saying, “The zone in the city center should have a fee.”

The city council will decide whether to introduce the measure. Hřib added that the congested city center is also a problem from the perspective of public transport, as cars slow down trams and cause delays throughout the network.

He said that charging for entry should not affect residents at all, as it will be monitored by cameras connected to the parking permit database.

The mayor wants uncompromising control. According to Hřib, the city’s Technical Road Administration (TSK) is currently working on traffic models. “There will be some impact on traffic, but we know it will not lead to a catastrophic apocalypse,” he stressed.

The specific areas affected by the measure and the cost of entering the center are still being determined. Radoměřská emphasized that enforceability is also crucial. “Thorough, careful, vigorous, and uncompromising control of what we introduce is necessary,” she stressed.

Prague 1 is also addressing parking problems, and its management is advocating, among other things, that only residents be allowed to park in the blue zones in the center.

In addition to charging for access to the center, the municipality will also discuss comprehensive changes to the system of paid parking zones, according to Hřib.

He stated that this should provide more parking spaces for local residents in the center. The parking changes are ideally expected to take effect early next year, he added.

Regarding parking, the deputy mayor also mentioned the difficulty of enforcing parking offenses, which often result in lengthy and largely unsuccessful administrative proceedings. Hřib intends to push for legislative changes on this issue. “If the rules are not enforced, they will be useless. And to enforce them, a change in the law is truly necessary; there is simply no other way to solve this,” he said.