Budapest passes will no longer be valid on trains, suburban buses, HÉV in 2024?

News broke on 20 December that Budapest passes will not be valid on suburban trains, buses, ferries and HÉVs, affecting more than a million people’s everyday lives. The government says they could not settle with the Budapest local government. Therefore, the relevant contract cannot be extended after 1 March 2024.

As we wrote in THIS article, such a decision would mean that only tickets or passes sold by MÁV or Volán will be accepted for trains, ferries and buses in Budapest and the surrounding area.

According to Index’s information, the Ministry of Construction and Transport (ÉKM) thinks that the Metropolitan Municipality owes the state public service provider around HUF 2 billion (EUR 5.2 million), and since ÉKM’s offer was not accepted by the municipality, the financial closure of the year 2022 did not take place.

However, it seems Budapest pass on trains, buses, ferries, HÉV can survive.

New agreements signed

The Budapest transport centre BKK on Friday signed agreements with suburban railways operators MÁV-HÉV and with national coach operator Volán which ensures that the current system of tariffs will remain in force, BKK said.

BKK said in a statement that agreements signed in 2016 by the Budapest Metropolitan Council and the Ministry of Transport about the operation of “blue” bus services in suburban areas will expire on Sunday. This posed a risk that the current system of tariffs would be discontinued but the agreement now signed with MÁV-HÉV and Volánbusz will enable the preservation of the current services, also keeping the current tariffs in force, it added.

As a result, Budapest passes will remain valid on suburban services and BKK will continue to fulfil transport supervision and passenger information supply tasks on suburban railways HÉV services and “blue” buses of Volánbusz in suburban areas.

But it is not a solution

However, BKK highlighted that the agreement is not a solution on the situation, just a bypass. The aforementioned contract between the companies will not be extended, only the separate agreements will allow people to commute with their Budapest passes on the suburban lines.

Dávid Vitézy, a former transport secretary, said in a Facebook post later on Friday that he hopes there will be an agreement with MÁV-Start, Hungary’s main rail service provider. If not, that would make life much harder for people living in e.g. Dunakeszi, Isaszeg, Üllő, Vecsés, or Gyál on the Pest side.

Some believe Vitézy is not only a public person critisising both the government and the leadership of the capital but also Orbán’s secret candidate for the mayorship of Budapest. He is a distant relative of Viktor Orbán. Zsófia Vitézy is a half sister of Dávid on her father’s side and a cousin of Viktor Orbán on her mother’s side.

Read also:

• Budapest public transport changes from today: here is everything you need to know – Read more HERE
• Budapest public transport disrupted by Danube flooding, roads closed in the country