Budapest’s public bike sharing system during the COVID-19 pandemic: online registration and a monthly fee of HUF 100

In compliance with the announcement made by Mr. Mayor Gergely Karácsony as of 14 March 2020, the MOL Bubi system, Budapest’s public bike sharing system is temporarily available for a symbolic fee of HUF 100. Simultaneously, in order to provide a more simple use, BKK launches even the possibility of online registration as a pilot. The public bike sharing system is available with 157 docking stations and with 2,071 MOL Bubi bikes from Óbuda to Kelenföld and from Városmajor to József Attila-lakótelep.

BKK Centre for Budapest Transport is doing its best with every available means to support citizens who wish to avoid the crowd during the pandemic, by using the MOL Bubi service. Therefore, BKK takes two significant and immediate steps in relation to the public bike sharing system, as follows:

Provides the MOL Bubi service temporarily for a symbolic fee of gross HUF 100/month for every single user.

The online registration and online conclusion of contract will be possible as a pilot, as a consequence of which, administration in person will no longer be required from this day to use the MOL Bubi public bike sharing system.

Developments planned to be made in the near future will be implemented sooner than planned, given the exceptional pandemic situation. Novelties have been already tested several times, yet we would like to kindly ask passengers to be patient and understanding, should technical errors occur in the very first days.

Originally, we were planning to renew the MOL Bubi system in the spring. Budapest’s public bike system launched in 2014 is compelling in terms of the number of its bikes and docking stations, yet we are doing our best to introduce a more simple registration and payment process, a new pricing policy, new discounts and even we are dealing with how we could improve the bike’s user experience. Thus, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are introducing such developments, whose preparations have been already begun and have been already in an advanced stage, declared Dr. Ivett Varga, BKK’s CEO. She added that when the pandemic is over, a tariff system higher than the recently-introduced HUF 100 but lower and more favourable than the previous one could be applicable for the MOL Bubi public bike sharing system.

Further information on how to use Budapest’s public bike system
Online registration is possible at MOL Bubi’s website (molbubi.hu) and via the MOL Bubi app (Google Play http://bit.ly/molbubi_android, App Store: http://bit.ly/molbubi_ios). User account becomes activated after a short registration process. After the monthly fee in the amount of the symbolic HUF 100 has been settled online, the public bike system can be used right away.