According to the survey, 15 percent of Prague residents believe that paid entry would improve the situation in the city center.

The Prague coalition will begin addressing the form and rules of charging for entry to Malá Strana and Smetanovo Embankment, said Deputy Mayor for Transport Zdeněk Hřib. The goal is to calm traffic and improve tram passage. However, only 15 percent of Prague residents agree with charging as a solution to the city’s traffic situation, while 59 percent of respondents see the problem in the unfinished ring road, according to a survey by the Prague Chamber of Commerce.

When and in what form any possible charging will be introduced is not yet clear. According to earlier information, drivers could pay 200 CZK per day. “Six out of ten Prague residents are against restricting entry to the city center until the Prague ring road is completed. One in ten would outright ban entry,” the survey states. According to it, 59 percent of the city’s inhabitants see the solution in completing the Prague ring road. Only 15 percent of respondents believe that charging for entry into the center will improve the situation. The survey also showed that one-third of Prague residents refuse to pay for entry into the center. Just under a quarter are willing to pay only if it solves the traffic situation in the rest of the city.

On the other hand, the research showed that 56 percent of people are convinced that charging cars for entry into the center will improve residents’ quality of life. “The problem is that trams are delayed in these areas. The city was not built for today’s intense car traffic, so we need to decide what we want there. Now a discussion within the coalition awaits us. Everything is just heading towards such a discussion,” said Zdeněk Hřib. Once trams start being delayed in these areas, it also impacts their operation in other parts of the city and complicates adherence to timetables on multiple lines.

According to the deputy mayor, the city council has agreed with Prague 1 to try charging for entry to Malá Strana and Smetanovo Embankment instead of banning it. The system would work so that the driver pays, and upon entry, a camera checks the vehicle’s license plate. According to Hřib, such a measure operates in some Czech cities, including Karlovy Vary.

If the coalition agrees and the city approves the measure, according to Hřib it will take about six months to implement it. The measure would run in a pilot mode for one year, after which the city and Prague 1 would evaluate it. Before that, there would be a commenting process involving, among others, city districts that would submit suggestions and comments on the proposal. “So far, it has only been preliminarily discussed with the town halls,” said Hřib.

The charging system for entry into selected parts of Prague 1 is, according to earlier statements from city representatives, to be fully automatic and legally based on a so-called local fee. It will therefore not be a toll, which current legislation does not allow. Earlier, Prague 1 councilor Vojtěch Ryvola (ANO) stated that, according to information from the Ministry of Transport, the earliest possible date for approving legal regulations allowing tolls is 2029.

You can read the full article at idnes.cz (Novemeber 9).