Dozens of Budapest tram, trolleybus, bus timetables changed ‘secretly’!

The Budapest Transport Company (BKK) changed the timetables of several tram, trolleybus and bus lines in Budapest without informing the passengers in advance. Katalin Walter, the company’s CEO, acknowledged they made a mistake and apologised. Meanwhile, Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, highlighted that the measure is not a frequency reduction even though he admitted the opposite. An opposition party already started to collect signatures against BKK’s decision. The issue may became an integral part of the 2024 municipal election campaign.

We wrote HERE that the BKK, Budapest’s transport company, modified the timetables of dozens of popular Budapest trams and buses on 19 January. We wrote that they would run less frequently in the rush hours. Even though they must inform passengers 14 days before the modifications enter into force, they kept the decision secret until 18 January.

On Thursday, BKK uploaded a statement on their official website informing people about the decision, but they did not share the number of buses and trams the modification affects. That happened only later that day and in small details. It seemed they would like to confuse both the passengers and the media about the scale of the modification. Moreover, the new system entered into effect on Friday morning. Below, you may find the 53 lines affected.

On Mondays, the follow-up time on these lines will increase by 0.5-1 minute during the rush hours:

• Buses: 7E, 9, 11, 20E, 67, 85, 85E, 122E, 123A, 133E, 139, 142E, 148, 159, 161E, and 220.
• Trolleybuses: 70, 74, 75, 78.
• Tram nr 50.

On Fridays, the follow-up time on these lines will increase by 1-1.5 minutes during the rush hours:

• Buses: 5, 7E, 8E, 9, 11, 20E, 29, 30, 30A, 35, 36, 67, 85-ös, 85E, 95, 99, 102, 107, 108E, 110, 111, 112, 122E, 133E, 139, 142E, 148, 152, 159, 161E, 176E, 182, 182A, 184, 196, 196A, 220, 223E, 224, 224E, 276E, 282E, and 284E.
• Trolleybuses: 70, 74, 75, 78, 80, 81.
• Trams: 1, 1A, 14, 50.

Timetable changes cause outcry

According to Gergely Karácsony, the mayor of Budapest, the reason behind the modification was the changed travel habits of the people. NGOs criticised the decision because the lines affected are popular, so the frequency decrease resulted in a significant deterioration of the travel experience.

Dávid Vitézy, a former transport secretary and a possible mayoral candidate in Budapest, uploaded some photos from the Zugló railway station bus stop, where one can see people who could not get on the bus in the morning. Mr Vitézy suggested that was because of the BKK’s decision. He highlighted that the decision made BKK services less competitive in Budapest, suggesting that more locals will choose cars instead of public transport.

In a reply, Mayor Karácsony said that those buses are always crowded, and Vitézy became a mediocre politician instead of remaining a valuable public transport expert. Karácsony said Budapest saw no frequency reduction in public transport. Such allegations are taking place only because the political campaign for the 9 June municipal elections started, he added.

Opposition allies criticise Karácsony

However, the CEO of BKK, Katalin Walter, acknowledged in ATV that they should have communicated better with the passengers before the modifications took place. Therefore, she apologised. Furthermore, she added that they would closely monitor the situation and intervene if needed.

Közlekedő Tömeg, an NGO, called the decision of the BKK a restriction which the company carried out consciously with the exclusion of the public. Moreover, they committed professional mistakes. Therefore, they asked everybody to check out the latest timetable on the BudapestGo app before beginning their journey anywhere to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Of course, BKK’s decision will be a part of the 9 June municipal election campaign. An opposition party, LMP, started to collect signatures against the decision. Earlier this week, Gergely Karácsony said that LMP should be in the leftist opposition alliance again. Such an alliance would have a chance to win Budapest after 2019 again.

Read also:

• BKK announcement: public transport in Budapest to change by March – Read more HERE
• Key changes in Hungarian public transport summarised in 10 points – Details in THIS article