Prague launches ‘tunnel bus’ after a decade of planning: Here's how to ride

A new bus line running through Prague's Blanka tunnel started operating on Saturday, offering a potentially faster connection between Čimice and Kobylisy in Prague 8 and Hradčanská and Dejvická in Prague 6.

Bus line 145 is expected to cover the journey in about 15 minutes. The same trip by metro, requiring a transfer between lines C and A in the city center, takes about 22 minutes, or up to half an hour when the time spent navigating the stations is included.

The so-called tunnel bus has been in the works for about ten years.

“Half of the people said we were crazy, the other half said they should have been running a long time ago,” Martin Šubrt, Ropid's deputy director for urban transport, told the transport news server Zdopravy.cz.

The first day of operation offered some encouraging signs, with many connections running on time or even ahead of schedule. But the real test will be weekday service, when traffic is heavier.

Prašný most, one of Prague's most complicated intersections, is a particular challenge. Although buses and trams have priority there, traffic entering the Blanka tunnels is regulated.

Tunnel buses must currently leave the tram lane and merge with other traffic because there is no space to rejoin the traffic lane after the intersection in the direction of Hradčanská.

Ropid is working on a solution that would allow the buses to remain on the tracks, according to Zdopravy.

The route also benefits from changes already made to Prague's road network. At Vítězné náměstí, buses can now pass through the center of the roundabout rather than going around it. The change saves 14 bus lines an average of 55 seconds during rush hour, according to Ropid.

“If there is a delay of up to three minutes, we will open the champagne,” Šubrt said. “But even if it is ten minutes, the time savings will still be interesting, especially for seniors or parents with strollers.”

Opened in 2015, the 5.5-kilometer Blanka tunnel complex was designed to carry traffic beneath Prague's center, and now, for the first time, a regular bus service is using it to connect the city's northern and western districts.

According to the Prague Transport Company, Line 145 route runs from: Čimice housing estate – Čimice – Libeňská – Řepínská – Podhajská pole – Čimický háj – Písečná – Služská – Kobylisy – Okrouhlická – Vychovatelna – Hradčanská – Vítězné náměstí.