Prague Tightens Controls on So‑Called “Pseudo‑Veterans”

Pseudo-veterans in the spotlight: Prague repeatedly uncovered breaches of regulations during inspections of sightseeing tours with replica historic vehicles. Ten inspections last year led to ten official warnings.

Prague City Hall also stepped up its oversight of passenger services in 2025. Alongside traditional taxis, particular attention was for the first time paid to so-called “pseudo-veterans” – replica historic vehicles used for sightseeing tours, whose technical condition often shows deficiencies. In total, the city carried out ten inspections of operators and drivers of such vehicles – and in all cases, legal violations were identified.

“Some providers attempted to evade legal obligations by claiming that their activity was carried out as part of a club, where passengers did not pay for the ride but only for membership. However, the inspections showed that operators failed to meet the basic requirements of the taxi sector, including the absence of a business licence for passenger transport. These breaches were pursued through administrative offence proceedings. This year as well, we will focus on detailed inspections,” explained Jaromír Beránek, Deputy Mayor of Prague for Transport.

He added that last week the City Council adopted an amendment to the taxi operation regulations, which, among other things, sets emission standards and will also apply to pseudo-veterans in the future. This is intended to improve the situation in the long term.

The city has been intensively monitoring these historic vehicles since 2021. At that time, serious violations were also identified: vehicles were not registered in the official taxi database, and drivers did not hold the required taxi licence. Operators claimed they merely rented out vehicles with a driver, rather than operating taxis. The Transport Department then imposed a fine of 200,000 CZK, the legality of which was later confirmed both by the Czech Ministry of Transport as an appeals authority and by the Prague Municipal Court. This year, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court also upheld the legality of the measure following further appeals by the operators.

In Prague, taxi services are offered not only via digital apps or conventional metered taxis. The taxi regulations also cover contract-based services, such as hotel transfers, as well as sightseeing tours with historic vehicles – the pseudo-veterans.