PRAGUE, Sept 10 — The city of Prague is testing a pilot scheme to unify payment and access to all of the city’s public transportation services, including cabs and shared cars, bikes and scooters.

The capital of the Czech Republic is trialing a unified subscription system for all its public transport services, all of which will be accessed and managed on a single mobile application. This is a pilot project aimed at promoting all the forms of soft mobility that can complement the traditional public transport offer.

The Litacka application will be used to develop, test and operate a unified registration and payment system for all these means of transportation, including car-sharing services and cabs. Prague’s residents will be able to manage the various services they use from a single application. It will also integrate payment for these different services, as well as access to maps and public transport schedules.

This pilot project will last until the end of 2024. At the end of this trial period, the city will decide whether or not to extend it. The initiative forms part of a much larger plan to reduce CO2 emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. Hence, the desire to promote the many soft mobility options that are already available in the city. Already, as of this summer, holders of a public transport pass are entitled to two free 15-minute trips per day on shared bikes, notably to get to a station near their home.

Initiatives of this kind are multiplying, and not only in the Czech Republic. A EUR9 (RM41) monthly transport ticket was tested this summer in Germany. For this modest sum, users were able to ride the country’s subway, tram and bus networks, as well as local and regional trains. — ETX Studio