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Public transportation fixes need a jump-start
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September 5th, 2007 issue

The good news this week is that city officials finally appear to be serious about extending the metro to Ruzyně Airport. The bad news is that it could take until 2018, at least.

To lend perspective to that date, consider that students currently in elementary school will be finishing college by the time an airport metro stop opens. Many of the midlevel managers who commute to work on the subway every day will be retired.
In the meantime, travelers from around the world will continue to wander Ruzyně Airport, wondering how to get into the city.
While we appreciate that large public work projects don’t happen overnight, the process of completing one of the most critical portions of the metro system seems interminable, especially for a city that has aspirations (or perhaps delusions) of hosting the winter Olympics. And, given the pace at which construction and big decisions happen in this country — converting to the euro comes to mind — it’s hard to have much faith in the 2018 date.
That said, we applaud Prague politicians for their plans to pony up 15 billion Kč ($740.7 million) in city money to get the construction under way. And it’s good to see that they’re getting creative about financing by applying for European Union funding, which is expected to pay for the bulk of the A-line extension to the airport, and soliciting private investors to underwrite the construction of a brand-new D line.
Still, the contrast is striking. A second terminal has been built at the airport, and an outlet mall has sprung up from farmland down the road, while talk about improving public transportation has remained just that — talk. Does it really take nine years to dig new tunnels and lay 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) of track?
With the number of passengers at Ruzyně growing every year, and new airlines like Ryanair adding Prague to their routes, this is more than a public relations issue. Yes, you can take a taxi or van into town if you can’t figure out, or don’t have the time to negotiate, the bus connections. But that’s not the way a world-class city attracts tourists and investors.
Expanding the metro to the airport is only one part of a comprehensive improvement program that public transportation in Prague badly needs. Even though the subway system, built in the 1970s, was well thought out, it is now completely overburdened by the number of passengers who crowd on at peak times. And the trams, as anyone who has ridden them at rush hour during the summer knows, are an assault on the senses. The solution may not be as simple as adding more cars, but surely there are some short-term fixes that would help.
The move to partner with the private sector seems particularly promising. Metro expansion projects should be an attractive investment opportunity. If that turns out not to be the case, why not hold a referendum and ask voters to approve an additional sales tax or a special transit tax to pay for improvements? Other cities commonly float bonds paid back by sales taxes to pay for infrastructure projects.
Big corporations doing business here might also be willing to support metro expansion. Since so many companies are currently willing to give cars as perks, maybe they could “think green” by investing in the metro system and offering workers the chance to get out of their cars and do something good for the environment.
As expats, we appreciate the public transportation system in Prague, which bests that of virtually any U.S. city. But it’s clearly in need of help, and we urge government officials to step on the gas in making both short- and long-term improvements.


Other articles in Opinion (5/09/2007):

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