Prague to launch direct bus service through Blanka tunnel, cutting cross-town commute for expats and airport staff

The city of Prague has approved a new cross-town bus route—Line 145—that will run through the Blanka road tunnel from 15 August, linking the residential districts of Čimice and Bohnice in Prague 8 with the diplomatic, university and commercial quarter of Dejvice in Prague 6. For the first time, employees of the many foreign missions, IT firms and international schools clustered around Vítězné náměstí will have a one-seat ride from the northern housing estates, slashing travel time during rush hour by up to 50 %. The change matters for global-mobility teams managing Prague-based expatriates.



For expatriates and their employers sorting out the paperwork behind those assignments, services like VisaHQ can smooth the process of securing Czech residence permits, work visas or renewals well before relocation decisions—such as choosing a neighbourhood now better served by Line 145—have to be made. The company’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/czech-republic/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checking and courier options, allowing HR teams to sync mobility timelines with the new, faster commute.

Until now, assignees living on the more affordable north-east side of the capital faced at least one transfer—often two—when travelling to offices near the airport or to the city’s main conference hotels. The new service, running every six minutes at peak and every 20 minutes in the evening, provides a predictable 25-minute journey and uses newly designated bus-priority lanes to bypass congestion at Kobylisy and Letná. City Hall will fund the service with CZK 18.5 million out of last year’s savings at Dopravní podnik Praha (DPP). Transport councillor Zdeněk Hřib says the pilot will be reviewed after four months; if ridership meets forecasts of 9,000 daily passengers, the city may extend evening operations to synchronise with late arrivals at Václav Havel Airport. DPP confirms that low-floor, air-conditioned vehicles with luggage racks will be deployed—features aimed directly at airport and rail users. For corporations the immediate benefit is softer: relocating staff can now consider neighbourhoods like Čimice that were previously dismissed as “two-bus zones”. Real-estate advisers expect rents on the northern ridge to rise 3-4 % once the timetable stabilises. Meanwhile, conference planners gain a back-up route when the metro’s Line A is disrupted—a recurrent issue during track-maintenance weekends. Safety had long been the sticking point; older Prague tunnels lack the ventilation and emergency bays required for regular bus traffic. Blanka’s modern fire-suppression and CCTV system allowed transit authority engineers to certify the route after a trial run in May. The Strahov tunnel remains off-limits and is scheduled for a CZK 8-billion overhaul between 2028 and 2033, at which time further public-transport penetration is expected. While the measure is domestic, it feeds directly into the Czech Republic’s wider mobility picture: easing links between residential zones and the airport corridor supports the government’s 2025-2030 talent-attraction plan, which hinges on keeping commute times for foreign specialists under 40 minutes door-to-desk. HR departments should update relocation guides and consider subsidising annual PID passes (CZK 3,650) to encourage use of the new line.