Buses and T-Buses
As of 5 December 2020, after completing the extensive renewal of our bus fleet during in the years 2018 - 2020, we have been proud to be able to operate only low-floor buses on all bus and t-bus lines operated by the Prague Public Transit Company (DPP). This has made it possible to fulfill one of the company’s long-term objectives, which dates from back in the 1990s, which is to improve our ability to serve our passengers with special mobility and orientation needs.
An exception to the fully low-floor dispatch is the weekend deployment of Karosa buses as part of the so-called retroprovision on the K line.
Historical development of low-floor buses
First low-floor buses appeared in Prague at the turn of 1994 and 1995. Three low-floor vehicles Neoplan N4014/3 were launched into operation, in the following year then first four low-floor buses Karosa – Renault City Bus. Great boom of transport ensured by low-floor vehicles came in 2000, when the Prague Public Transit Company, joint-stock company bought 80 low-floor buses. This almost doubled their number. At the end of 2000, 123 low-floor buses were guaranteed to be dispatched during business days, 72 on Saturday and 75 low-floor vehicles on Sunday.
Our ability to increase guaranteed connections for our limited mobility passengers took place only gradually, in line with our ability to purchase new buses. The first significant increase in these purchases came in the years 2010-2016. The next big increase occurred with the large order for 450 of the company SOR‘s single level, low floor NB 12 and low-floor, single-level NB 18 articulated buses. These made it possible to announce our 5 December 2020 commitment to go “all-low-floor“. Another benefit of these newest buses is their ability to carry 2 persons with wheelchairs, which exceeds the Prague Integrated Transport (PID) quality standards. We remain committed to improving our ability to meet the special needs of all of our passengers.
In this area, the Prague Public Transit Company has long been cooperating especially with the Prague Wheelchair Users Association and with the United Organisation of Blind and Partially Sighted, with which especially the internal modifications of the each newly supplied bus type, including e.g. individual signalling elements, are consulted.
Advantages of a low-floor bus
Low-floor bus An advantage of low-floor design lies definitely in that it enables boarding and disembarking of wheelchaired persons and that it simplifies boarding and disembarking of passengers with a pram. However, all passengers and even the carrier itself benefit from the low-floor design, since it enables easier and faster dispatching of passengers at the stops (e.g. SOR-type buses have more doors, which results in faster dispatching, another advantage being also the possibility of access to the pram platform from the second as well as the third door).
Although the low-floor buses are positively perceived by the public, sometimes this issue is not without criticism. In some cases, people negatively perceive the fact that most seats are placed on raised parts of the floor. However, this is well reasoned. The bus has plenty of devices (from fuel tanks to air reservoirs, etc.), which need to be placed under the floor. Earlier, in the case of classic types, there used to be enough space under the floor. Nowadays, less exposed areas under seats are used. Roughly speaking, the stairs, which were originally in the door, are relocated to the seats.
Guaranteed low-floor lines
The guarantee lies in the fact that a marked connection in the timetable will always be ensured by a low-floor vehicle. The guaranteed connections are marked in the timetables at the stops by the symbol of a wheelchair. Bus lines timetables can be found at the Timetables Portal. The Prague Public Transit Company currently guarantees low-floor connections for all its bus lines.