Effective January 1, 2024, following an agreement among all clients, the IDOL rate will be adjusted.

“We discussed the possible changes at the IDOL Council, as well as with the cities that operate their own public transit systems. For the first time since IDOL’s introduction, prices are being adjusted uniformly and in cooperation with all contracting authorities,” said Martin Půta, Governor of the Liberec Region. The IDOL Council is an advisory body that brings together representatives of the contracting authorities within the IDOL integrated transportation system, namely the Liberec Region and the cities with their own public transit systems (Liberec, Jablonec nad Nisou, and Česká Lípa). The IDOL Council may recommend to local governments what steps are appropriate to take. Each municipality then votes separately on the fare increase. The regional fare schedule was approved by the regional council at its meeting on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. “We discussed and coordinated the changes and the process for adjusting fares in close cooperation with the cities. I believe this approach is the right one for our joint integrated transit system,” added Půta.

The price increases in the regional fare schedule average 5%. However, there are no changes to the prices of network passes, which are used for regular commuting over distances of more than 35 kilometers, and for annual passes, even over 20 kilometers. “We are adjusting prices primarily in light of the long-term trend of rising costs, which was enormous last year, and to which we had to respond. However, we could not pass the financial burden on to passengers all at once, but only gradually,” said Jan Sviták, the statutory deputy governor in charge of the transportation department. “From the perspective of 2023, another price increase may not seem understandable, but from a broader perspective, this change—though rather cosmetic in the case of the regional fare schedule—is necessary. However, we took care to ensure that regular passengers are affected as little as possible by the change. By keeping the prices of network passes unchanged, we want to encourage passengers to use these products. In particular, the annual network pass for the entire IDOL network is a good deal for passengers,” added Sviták. The annual pass will continue to cost 10,000 crowns. Its price has remained unchanged since its introduction in 2012.

So what will change under the IDOL fare system?

Pricing

Effective January 1, 2024, the prices of individual tickets will increase by an average of approximately 5% for cashless payments and 6% for cash payments. In all fare zones, cashless payments are guaranteed a price that is at least 20% lower (typically 20 to 22%; variations are due to price rounding).

Unlike last year, prices for time-based passes (route-based time coupons) will also increase starting January 1, 2024. After several years, the Liberec Region is returning to calculating these prices using so-called constants, which are derived from the prices of individual tickets. For example, a 7-day pass is 8 times the price of a single cashless ticket, a 30-day pass is 26 times the price, a 90-day pass is 74 times the price, and a 366-day pass is 240 times the price. The average increase for time-based fares is 4%, though in individual zones, increases of up to 10% may occur. For the shortest routes—where time-based tickets are rarely used—the increase is more noticeable. Conversely, for longer distances, there may even be a slight decrease in price; this applies, for example, to weekly passes covering distances over 31 fare units or to 90-day passes in the 31–35 fare unit zone.

“We designed the price list to simultaneously eliminate certain price disparities between individual zones, so it cannot simply be said that the price increase is a flat 5% across the board,” explained Otto Pospíšil, managing director of KORID LK, the public transportation coordinator.

Conversely, there will be no change in the prices of network passes valid throughout the entire IDOL territory. The basic price for a weekly pass is 520 crowns, for a 30-day pass 1,760 crowns, for a 90-day pass 4,400 crowns, and for a 366-day pass 10,000 crowns.

Discounted passes for children, students, and people over 65 cost half the regular price. For passengers with a certified third-degree disability, the price is one-quarter of the standard rate. The price of the annual pass for people over 70 remains unchanged. This pass costs 1,100 crowns.

Other Changes

KORID LK has expanded the IDOL fare zone to include the Děčín region so that it is fully valid on rail service between Liberec and Děčín, a feature highly requested by passengers. This change will take effect on December 10, 2023. At the same time, the DÚK fare will also be valid along the railway line within the Liberec Region.

“We have long been striving to ensure that the region’s border is not a barrier to the integrated transportation system, and we are continuing this trend. A prerequisite for such an expansion is an agreement between the regions. In this case, we also sought an agreement with the carrier ARRIVA vlaky, which operates express trains,” added Pospíšil.

Following discussions with the city of Turnov, the Turnov – Industrial Zone and Dolánky zones will be merged with the current Turnov zone. This will facilitate travel on the city’s public transit system, which is contracted by the Liberec Region on behalf of the city and with its financial contribution.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that passengers can take advantage of discounted single-ride fares when paying by card. To do so, they can use the Idolka mobile app, the Opuscard e-wallet, or a bank card. For regular commuters, it’s worth purchasing time-based or network passes, which can also be bought via the Idolka mobile app or the IDOL e-shop. Passengers can use time-based and network passes in combination with the following identifiers: Opuscard+, Idolka, a bank card, the ČD In Karta, or the PID Lítačka.

Passengers can learn about these and other changes on the website www.iidol.cz. They can also follow other news on the IDOL Facebook page or on public transportation vehicles. Passengers can direct any questions to the KORID LK Helpdesk at info@korid.cz or call the customer service line at 488 588 788.

The fare schedule effective January 1, 2024, can be found here.