The curiosities of Hungarian transport – open train doors, distracted drivers

Traveling by public transport always holds the possibility of experiencing something unique. This was particularly true for the passengers of a bus and a train in Hungary this week.

A door that did not close

According to nlcafe.hu, a train was traveling with its doors open between Mezőzombor and Szerencs this past Thursday. A passenger caught the incident on video and also revealed that similar things have happened in the past months on this particular train line.

MÁV (Hungarian State Railways) claims that the door was closed at the time the train left the station, as the closing happens automatically. However, due to a mechanical problem, the door opened again while the train was moving.

The problem has been fixed since the accident.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Unfortunately, this does not seem to be an isolated incident. A few weeks ago, an express train was traveling with its doors open between Mosonmagyaróvár and Győr. However, there is hope that it will not happen on the newer trains as they will have a control system that signals any arising problems. The system is slowly being built into the older models, too.

A bus driver distracted by his phone

According to szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu, a conflict emerged between a bus driver and an elderly lady on a Kecskemét bus. The elderly lady was made to disembark the bus for calling out the young bus driver who was on his phone the majority of the time. In fact, he would not go any further until the woman left the bus.

The bus driver had a lengthy conversation on the phone, that is what invoked the elderly woman’s disapproval, as she thought the driver was putting the safety of all the passengers in danger.

However, the driver got enraged and took her comment so personally that, at the next stop, he declared he would not take the woman any further.

Photo: facebook.com/pg/dakkzrt

The driver got off as well, and, sitting on the pavement, continued his phone call. After several minutes like that, some of the passengers left the vehicle, catching other buses.

The elderly lady, after some arguing, resolved to continue her journey on foot.

That is when another passenger pointed out to the driver that they can go on since the woman has left. He conceded, and the bus was back on track.

Following this event, several passengers filed complaints and, until the internal investigation closes, the bus driver has been suspended. The bus company has apologised to the elderly lady.

For more travel information, check out this useful article about the summer changes to Budapest’s transport system.

Source: nlcafe.hu, szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu