The public transport system in Brno is one of the best! There are buses, trolleybuses and trams to get you wherever you need to go! During night time, night buses are operating every hour or so, which is quite convenient! This system is part of the Integrated Public Transport System of the South Moravian Region (IDS JMK), which is a bigger transport system which connects cities of the South Moravian Region.
To use public transportation, you obviously need a ticket! You can buy tickets on yellow coin machines located at major stops but they are not everywhere, so you might want to plan ahead. You can also buy them at the driver but the ticket will be more expensive! The tickets are also sold at tobacconists, post offices, railway stations DPMB outlets or you can even purchase them by SMS.
However, if you are using public transportation on a regular basis, it is better to buy a pass! First, you will save money and second, you will not have to worry about having a ticket and punching it every time you go in a bus or tram.
There are several kinds of passes: one month, three months or a whole year. The price depends on your socio-professional category and also the zones you want your pass to cover (however zones 100+101 are enough for Brno).
If you decide to buy a pass, you will be able to make one at the railway station or DPMB (Dopravní podnik města Brna) outlets. For example, there is one office near Hlavní nádraží, on Novobranská 693/18.
When you go there, you will need to fill in a paper (like above) or you can directly fill it online, print the paper and go to the booth. If you are a student, you will need a special stamp from university on this paper, otherwise you will not be eligible for a student fare (I tried with my French student card, but it did not work!). If you apply for a retired person pass, you will also need to fill the extra case on the left. You will also need to provide a passport-size photo and ID card or passport. Then, you can present your documents to the person at the booth. They might not speak English but it is totally doable without speaking any Czech. Of course, it will be better if you use at least the basic Czech words: ‘dobrý den’, ‘děkuji’ and ‘na shledanou’! The person will issue the pass, they might ask you to check the spelling of your name and what kind of pass you want (1 month, 3 months or 1 year). This is when your Czech language skill might be needed: jeden měsíc, tři měsíc or jeden rok but showing the number with your fingers would work too!
When all this is done, you will receive your pass with a plastic cover. Several things will be marked on there, among them: first name, last name, date of birth and card number. On the other part will be: the zones allowed by your pass, the date of issue and the date of expiration.
Once you’ve done that, you are able to use the public transportation as much as you want without any trouble!
Note: When riding a bus or tram, you might be approached by a strange man showing you a badge, this is the ticket inspector, so show him your pass!
In case you don’t think you’ll be able to buy a transportation pass by yourself, you can still order our assistance and someone from the team will go with you!
