The Prague City Council has voted to terminate the lease agreement with the Guild of Fiakrists and Carriers of Bohemia and Moravia, officially ending horse-drawn carriage rides on Old Town Square.
The decision, approved on Monday, also removes carriage operations from the city’s so-called market order—a regulation defining where commercial activities can legally take place.
The lease agreement, originally signed in 1994, will be canceled with immediate effect. City officials justified the move not only as part of the updated commercial regulations but also on the grounds of animal welfare, arguing that horses working in heavy traffic suffer from stress and poor conditions.
Prague’s working group, formed in 2022 to evaluate the issue, found no compelling reason to preserve the service. “The group did not adopt any resolution supporting the continuation of carriage operations in Prague,” the council’s report stated.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from both the carriage drivers’ guild and members of the opposition ANO movement, who view it as an unnecessary break with Prague’s heritage.
Opposition representative Ondřej Prokop, head of ANO’s Prague branch, condemned the ruling. “Carriage drivers have repeatedly offered the city dialogue and a willingness to compromise. These carriages are part of Prague’s identity, and banning them is not a solution—it’s giving up on respect for history and what makes this city special,” he said.
The move is part of a broader effort by the city to regulate tourism-related activities in the historic centre.
In recent years, Prague has banned Segways, beer bikes, and oversized mascot costumes from popular tourist areas.
On Monday, councillors also passed a new measure banning shared electric scooters from next year, after numerous complaints from residents about their misuse in central districts.
