In our latest video, we showed you some crashes and close calls of Prague trams. You can watch the video here. But if you want to know some fun facts and interesting stuff regarding Prague trams – and you know I love fun facts… read on.
Trams keep score of pedestrians that they hit
I know this one sounds pretty brutal, but it is true. There is a special tram in Prague, that has the actual score displayed on its side with the text “Don’t jump in front of my wheels”. Last year (2020) and this year it’s 0:0 which is good news, but in 2019 it was 3:0 for the trams – meaning 3 people died after being hit by it. Also, the score is never higher than 0 for pedestrians. The tram will always win…
They ignore traffic signs!
Red, yellow, and green. Those mean nothing for the Prague trams. The only colour they care about is white. How does it work you ask? Well every intersection, that has trams involved in it, will also have an extra “traffic light” designated only for trams. In Czech, it’s called “čočky” (lenses). If they are side by side, it means “stop” and if they are above each other, it means “go”, and if they are diagonal (as shown on the picture) it means either left or right “go”.
You can ride them for free!
That’s right if you’re a kid up to 10 years of age or a senior older than 70 years and you have any kind of ID that proves it, you can use public transport for free. And if you get Prague’s public transport issued card (Lítačka) you can ride for free up to age 15 and after you hit 65. And that’s a deal!
They (almost) always have the right of the way!
You may have heard, that you as a pedestrian always have the right of the way. Well, that only applies to cars. If you’re on a crosswalk, a car has to stop and let you cross. But this rule does NOT apply to trams. Stopping a tram ain’t easy, they weigh more than 42 tons (that’s 50 VW beetles!). That’s why often there will be a sign on the cross walk “POZOR TRAM” warning you of trams!
You can see the Prague tram in North Korea
The Prague tram model T3 is extremely popular around the world. This tram can be seen not only in the Czech Republic but also Russia, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Ukraine, Latvija, Uzbekistan and… shocker… North Korea! The Prague public transport company actually sold 20 trams to North Korea back in 2008 for a total price of 500.000 euros. 25 thousand a piece? That’s a deal. There are only very few pictures I could find online, but notice how crowded the tram is.
And finally fun fact… did you notice there is something wrong with the tram on our book cover? All the tram drivers were laughing at us when we published it… let’s see if you can figure it out… and if you want to take a closer look, consider ordering our book here 🙂
Still reading? Well if so, you want more! Did you know we make Honest Guide video also in Czech! Yes! But it’s not called “Honest Guide” but “Kluci z Prahy” (Guys from Prague). Czech out the video bellow…
Hello from Reno, Nevada,
Enjoyed reading the Honest Blog this afternoon!
My husband & I enjoyed meeting you Janek.. We were on a tour with Viking in Oct/2019 & picked you out walking down the street near Old Town & we’re gracious enough to chat with us, take a pic! We watched your YT Videos 6 Months Pryor to our trip & did quite a few of the Honest Guide Tips on our own.. Cant wait to get back to Prague & stay on own a little longer once this awful Pandemic is over.
Sandy/Tom Fitzpatrick☘️
Here to officially declare this comment section the Reno, Nevada club. I spent a semester in Prague in 2017 and my life since then has been a quest to find a way back for good. The Honest Guide was such a great help when I was a student (from the moment I first took public transport from the airport to my apartment!), and these days I appreciate the little doses you bring me of the city I love so much. You can bet I’ll be back in 2022 🙂
I saw you on the street one day in old town square, you were eating an apple and looked very happy!
Honest folks are mostly happy.