Traffic in Budapest will turn upside down on 15 March: airport express bus affected
Hungary is celebrating the outbreak of the 1848 revolution on Saturday, so half of Budapest’s downtown will be closed to traffic. Therefore, the Budapest Transport Company advises everyone to avoid driving into the city centre on Saturday. The road closures will affect mainly downtown parts of the city like the Széchenyi István Square, the Akadémia Street, the Kálvin Square (M3 metro station), the area around the Hungarian National Museum and the Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street. Furthermore, one of the Budapest bridges will be closed to traffic from noon until 8 PM, and public transport will also change considerably.
According to index.hu, BKK, the Budapest Transport Centre, advises everybody to use Budapest’s metro and tram lines on Saturday to avoid the closures and possible downtown traffic jams. All BKK public transport lines will operate following their holiday and Sunday schedules.
Road traffic on the national holiday
Due to the 15 March commemorations, the following roads will be closed on Saturday:
- Múzeum Boulevard from 0:30 AM to 4 PM.
- Kossuth Lajos Square (where the Hungarian Parliament is) from dawn until 10:30 AM.
- There will be sectional and periodic closures from Kossuth Lajos Square to Akadémia Street, Széchenyi István Square, József Attila Street, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, Károly Boulevard, and Múzeum Boulevard from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
- Szabadság Bridge will be closed from noon to 8 PM.
- Rákóczi Street to Kossuth Lajos Street between Blaha Lujza Square and Ferenciek Square from 8 AM to 2 PM.
- The Andrássy Avenue between Nagymező Street and Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street will be closed from 10 PM on Friday (14 March) until Saturday midnight.
There will be sectional and periodic closures due to a motorcycle parade on the route from Jagelló Street to the BAH intersection, Alkotás Street, Krisztina Boulevard, Vérmező Street, Margit Boulevard, Margit Bridge, Szent István Boulevard, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, Révay Street, Dobó Street, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes’ Square, Dózsa György Street, Kerepesi Street, Hungária Boulevard, Üllői Street, and the road leading to Budapest Airport. Some BKK routes may be delayed for a few minutes due to the closures.
Public transport changes affecting even the airport express on 15 March
Trams 2, 2B, and 23, operating on one of the most spectacular routes in Budapest, will not carry passengers between Jászai Mari Square and Kossuth Lajos Square from Saturday service start until 10:30 AM.
The airport express bus 100E will run on a shortened route from 4:30 AM to 4:30 PM. It will carry passengers only between Kálvin Square and Liszt Ferenc Airport Terminal 2, skipping the Deák Ferenc Square and Astoria stops. Between 10 AM and 1 PM, passengers can board at Szabó Ervin Square. BKK recommends metro line M3 for passengers commuting between Deák Ferenc Square and Kálvin Square.
Trams 47 and 49 will operate from Batthyány Square instead of Deák Ferenc Square from Saturday service start until 8 PM, skipping the Deák Ferenc Square, Astoria, Kálvin Square, and Fővám Square stops because the Szabadság Bridge will be closed.
Bus 15 will run on a shortened route between Gyöngyösi Street and Kossuth Lajos Square during the closure of Petőfi Street, expected between 10 AM and 1 PM on Saturday. Bus 9 and trolleybus 72 will be diverted to carry passengers on the Grand Boulevard from Saturday service start until 4 PM, skipping stops between Szentkirályi Street and Nyugati railway station.
Buses and trolleybuses
Trolleybus 83 will run on a shortened route from 10 AM to 1 PM, skipping the Fővám Square, Ráday Street, Közraktár Street, and Czuczor Street stops. Buses 5, 7, 8E, 112, and 133E will operate between Pest terminals and Blaha Lujza Square from 8 AM to 2 PM. From Buda terminals, they will run to Szent Gellért Square – Műegyetem (5, 8E), Móricz Zsigmond Square (110, 112), and Döbrentei Square (7, 133E). Bus 107 will only operate between Szent Gellért Square and BudaPart from 8 AM to 2 PM.
Buses 105, 210B, and 979 will be diverted to run on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street from 10 PM Friday until Saturday midnight, skipping stops between Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street and Opera. From 1 PM to 10 PM on Saturday, they will run on Podmaniczky Street – Izabella Street, missing Oktogon and Vörösmarty Street stops.
Trolleybus 70 will be diverted from 1 PM to 10 PM on 15 March, skipping stops between Izabella Street/Király Street and Zichy Jenő Street. Trolleybus 78 will run on a shortened route from 1 PM to 10 PM on 15 March, skipping stops between Opera and Kossuth Lajos Square.
Pest lower embankment becomes car-free
As we wrote in THIS article, the Pest lower embankment will be open for pedestrians on the 15th-16th March weekend for the first time this year. That will affect the area between the Margaret Bridge and the Elizabeth Bridge where you can relax freely. Hopefully, the weather will be fine.
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