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What exactly are you researching in your work, and why should it interest someone who just occasionally takes the tram?
Specifically, I am working on improving the prediction of how long disruptions in tram traffic will last. I base my work on historical data from the Pilsen City Transport Company (PMDP) collected over years of operation, and I am now trying to use it to estimate what might happen in the future—for example, when an accident occurs.

Let’s imagine a typical situation in Pilsen: a car drives onto the tracks and gets stuck. What happens next?
When a tram stops due to an accident or a car on the tracks, no one usually knows how long the disruption will last. Sometimes the driver lets passengers get off, and the tram starts moving again a few minutes later. This causes unnecessary inconvenience for passengers. My model should help dispatchers and drivers estimate when service will resume, and thus decide whether to arrange replacement bus service, reroute lines, or simply wait. However, it certainly won’t replace the dispatcher, because they always draw on their personal experience as well. But the model will offer them a look into the past: how long similar incidents lasted in the past, how they were resolved, and with what results.

You have access to real-time data from Pilsen’s public transit system. What has surprised you the most so far, or what has challenged your original assumptions?
I was surprised by the wide range of reasons why a tram might come to a stop—from cars on the tracks to accidents and even flooded tracks. But what surprised me most was the complexity of controlling signalized intersections; that is also the biggest current complication for my research. Signal cycles change throughout the day—a “red” light lasts longer at 8 a.m. than at noon—and trams have strong priority so they don’t have to wait long for a “go” signal. And the auxiliary model tries to take all of this into account, especially at key tram intersections in the network.

And where does the economics you’re studying come into this? Do you ever run into a limit where the transportation data can’t tell you anything more?
Economics is about managing scarce resources. In this case, these are vehicles, drivers, or the capacity of the infrastructure that trams run on. Every decision a dispatcher makes has an impact on costs—direct costs include energy or wages for drivers working overtime. Indirect costs include, for example, loss of reputation or a decline in ridership, and thus lost revenue. Fewer passengers on public transit can lead to more cars on the streets and a poorer quality of the urban environment. However, we’re predicting emergencies, which are by their very nature unpredictable. That’s definitely a limitation. On the other hand, the Pilsen network is relatively small and events repeat themselves, so certain patterns can be identified. 

What does a typical workday look like for a doctoral student in your field?
In an academic environment, you can choose any 18 hours a day to work (laughs). In the afternoon, I usually have classes, consultations, and meetings. In the morning and often in the evening, I focus on research. Thanks to the flexibility, I also work partly from home.

What should someone know before applying?
That it’s not just an extended master’s program. A PhD is mainly about independence, responsibility, and conducting your own research. Finding a meaningful and dissertation-worthy topic is a long process full of dead ends.

What should change in how PhD programs operate in the Czech Republic?
In addition to funding, the overburdening of senior academics is also a problem. They have many students and responsibilities, so it’s difficult to devote time to each one individually. It would also make sense to me to better integrate research with practice. And personally, I also see the pressure to publish as a problem—it seems to me that sometimes it’s more about quantity than substance.

Where do you see yourself after completing your Ph.D.?
I’d like to stay partly at the university and partly in the field. I’d like to contribute to the development of public transit in Pilsen. And this might sound a bit strange, but after finishing my doctoral studies, I’d like to fulfill one more dream: to expand my driver’s license to include trolleybuses, so I can get to know the world of public transit from the other side.

Three words that sum up a PhD.
Challenge. Discovery. Pain.

The best advice you’ve received from your advisor.
You truly understand a topic best by starting to teach it.

What do you think is the biggest myth about PhD students?
That they’re normal. They’re always a bit like “outliers”—those outliers.

One thing you would change about your PhD program starting tomorrow.
Faster responses from advisors, co-authors, and reviewers.

Are you pursuing a master’s degree, enjoy science, and don’t know what to do next? Stay and discover. Applications for doctoral studies at the Faculty of Economics can be submitted by May 31, 2026.