Who likes shelling out more for something that used to cost so much less?

Well I surely don't.

Though I'll gladly join the vocal minority who doesn't seem to mind paying a wee bit more as part of the latest round of DPP (Prague Transit Authority) price hikes.

If you've been shooting around 100 Spire City since the advent of oh-eight, you've likely noticed the bright blue, green, and yellow stickers the good people at the DPP/Prague's Transit Authority have been slapping up of late on all ticket dispensing machines around the transit network. Someone puh-leeze snap a cam photo of this and email it onward so I can show people just what I'm talking about.

But all of this price-jacking has given me ample reason to smile.

Why, you ask?

Well, for one, developments such as these make you realize that our city is finally joining the ranks of the very highly developed. I can recall the dark days of my early trips to Prague, when my attempts to navigate the serpentine tunnels of Prague's Metro wasn't anything close to child's play. Until you got the hang of the line colours, signage, announcements in Czech, and the constant flow of bodies -- especially at transfer stations (tzv. Muzeum, Mustek) -- I did have the occasional tendency to get completely discombobulated.

But no longer. Not even for newcomers.

Metro station representatives are now very helpful when asking questions or for directions in either English or German. Even the goons who do ticket inspections at obscene hours of the night on Prague's tram lines -- seeking to collect their 500 crown penalties from the totally soused masses -- are politer as well. And if you haven't surfed on over to the DPP's website of late, you'll soon notice they're doing all they possibly can to make navigating the network abundantly easier, even before you set foot in the city.

You also probably think they're paying me for all of this extra publicity, don't you? Well, there's a moral to this story, kids.

There's likely a handful of readers who are totally put out of joint by the latest round of increases.

There are even some who might posit that the latest increases are purely opportunistic ones; not due to the budgetary cuts and corresponding tax increases heralded in under last year's ODS reforms (with much of the work likely done under the stewardship of CSSD bureaucrats).

By "opportunistic" I mean that Prague's Municipality is likely taking advantage of our city's growing European and international stature. More bodies to transport from A to B to C, as a result of higher visitorship to the city, means a more potential (read: greedy) revenue grab. As we usher in 2008, people will likely complain how the DPP poobahs are rubbing their greasy little paws behind HQ's closed doors, counting their millions of extra crownies.

These are those same people who would cite the relevant annual ridership statistics, claiming that the network isn't necessarily serving a greater number of riders, so why can't the cost of a simple non-transfer ticket remain at 14 crowns? What's with the 4 Kc increase? Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes? What gives, kamos?

Well, I'm resigned to the fact I'll be getting a flurry of e-flames from my usual detractors. They'll complain about how it's the foreigners in our midst (like you, Captain Canada!) responsible for all of these price jacks, vole.

"If it weren't for all of you cheating Ukrainians, yanks, and Africans 'riding black' on the tram," they'd say, "there wouldn't be a need to raise the goddamn prices! Honest Czechs would never think of being so dishonest,'" they'd holler.

Well, while the isolationist neanderthals might indeed prefer to keep our lovely Golden Town cizinec-rein, the benefits to our city becoming increasingly more open have been -- conversely -- just fabulous.

We're more linguistically-talented as a result, able to serve the various needs of the many visitors to our city in their language of choice. Just the other day I met a restaurateur who speaks six tongues (!!!). Sitting in his establishment knocking back an espresso, I had the opportunity to hear him use at least three of them, not including cestina.

And we're more worldly-wise as a result...

African people aren't some sort of voodoo cannibals who dwell in some far-off continent spearing each other to death for sport. Don't laugh! Just last night I was chatting with one of my friends from the Central African Republic. He was telling me of a recent trip he took to Liberec to visit his Czech buddy. As he alighted from the bus, a man in the station approached (accosted?) him and asked what he was doing there. My friend -- who speaks fluent Czech and has been living here for seven years -- humoured him. The man replies -- and I kid you not -- "You mean you have white friends here?" My friend replies, "Ano, urcite." Then the caveman has the balls to ask him, "You have such white teeth, how is that possible with skin so black?"

And so on, and so forth.

Sure, I realize this was Northern Bohemia, not Prague. Though it's quite obvious stories like these demand an even stronger dose of that 'ole "foreigner magic." The same one which seems to have done wonders for the Czech capital.

If that means we all have to pony up an extra few crowns on the tram or Metro for the privilege, then so be it. I'm in like Flynn.

How about you?