The City of Prague is planning to introduce an annual pass that serves as transit tickets and offer discounts and other deals for visitors.
“Basically, it is similar to a tourist ticket,” said Michal Fišer, Operátor ICT General Manager. According to him, the card can be used as a public transit ticket, as a guide regarding Prague’s main sights and to attend cultural events. They should also be alerted to the latest offers or discounts on event tickets.
Still under development by municipal Operator ICT (OICT), its official name has yet to be unveiled.
Some cards already exist in Prague, but they are issued by private companies and have limited benefits. Approximately 50.000 people use it every year.
Many European cities such as Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Vienna have been offering a tourist card for years.
The card has also been in operation in Olomouc Region for years. Brno has a card called Brnopas that allows for free or discounted entry to cultural sites and events. Plzeň offers returnable transit cards for tourists.
According to Fišer, OICT is ready to launch a ticket shop within 14 days so people can buy time coupons directly through the mobile app.
The card will be developed and managed by ICT, which also developed the public transport card Lítačka and other Smart City projects such as public WiFi benches.
Prague Airport handled a total of 17,804,900 passengers in 2019. That means that approximately one million more passengers passed through the airport than in 2018, which sets another historic record and a 6% year-on-year increase.
The busiest month of 2019 was August with 1,996,813 handled passengers. The daily average at Prague Airport was almost 49,000 passengers and the busiest day was on Friday, 28 June 2019, when a record number of 70,979 passengers were serviced in a one day.
