Tourist buses to be banned from Buda Castle!

The new Fidesz leadership of Budapest’s 1st district is preparing to ban all tourist buses from Buda Castle because they disturb locals. However, tourists will be able to reach one of Budapest’s most popular hotspots in an alternative way. The new mayor of the district, László Böröcz, a former MP of Fidesz, also talked about his thoughts about the Gellért Hill Funicular and the future of the capital’s famous pastry shop, the Ruszwurm.

Tourist buses will be banned from the castle

Mr Böröcz gave an interview to the independent news portal Telex about his plans as the leader of Budapest’s 1st district. The media outlet asked him, among others, about current political challenges since Böröcz was a Fidesz MP and the chairman of Fidelitas, the youth organisation of PM Orbán’s party.

According to Telex, the incumbent mayor of the district, Márta V. Naszályi, a politician of Párbeszéd – Dialogue for Hungary, wanted to establish a bus station in Mészáros Street and allow tourists to commute by buses on the historic streets of the Buda Castle. However, she had to withdraw the plan due to the protest of the locals.

Locals’ protest against the tourist buses. Photo: FB/Dániel Varga

Böröcz said they would ban tourist buses from the Buda Castle. Tourist groups spend a lot of money in the restaurants, bars and other stores of the Buda Castle, but the local government’s revenue is not significant. However, they need additional funds to develop the district.

E-shuttle service to carry passengers

Therefore, they would like to enter the market as a service provider and transport tourists to and from the Buda Castle. Consequently, they plan to buy electric buses and launch a shuttle service. The line would touch the Gellért Hill, the Citadel, the Castle Garden Bazaar, and the Dísz and Szentháromság Squares with the Mathias Church. It would be an alternative to the big tourist buses and generate serious income. Currently, 70% of the tourist buses carry visitors from hotel ships. However, Böröcz believes they could solve the problem of getting tourists to their e-bus shuttle service from the boats.

Tourists from ship hotels use the tourist buses.

According to Böröcz, they would like to write a complex plan until December and he hopes they would be able to start the project in the first months of 2025. He hopes for the service to be launched in a year.

Will there be a funicular between the Tabán and the Gellért Hill?

Concerning the Gellért Hill Funicular, Böröcz said it was a difficult question. In 2020, Mayor Gergely Karácsony and 1st District Mayor Márta V. Naszály supported the project. However, something happened and they began to attack the permissions. The new mayor said he could not understand the change in their behaviour because even Budapest would have had HUF hundreds of millions from the business.

The 300-metre-long, multi-car electric vehicle will complete the journey from the bottom of Gellért Hill to the top within 72 seconds. Böröcz believes he needs to see the plans of the funicular because he only heard political statements about the project. Afterwards, he will be able to decide whether the project was beneficial or not. Until now, he regarded the ban on tourist buses as one of the funicular’s main benefits. However, the big tourist buses could be replaced by an e-bus shuttle service operated by the local government. That means he may not support the building of the funicular. You may check out more details and some visuals of the planned funicular in THIS article.

The spectatular view from the Buda Castle Funicular. Photo: Wikimedia Commons by BalázsLola

Ruszwurm should not disappear, says Böröcz

Concerning the problem of the famous Ruszwurm pastry shop, Böröcz said the previous mayor had a good relationship with the owner, so she did not carry out the 2019 decision of the Kúria (Supreme Court) about the place’s emptying. However, that personal relationship changed – Böröcz suggested -, and the mayor wanted to shop to move. Ruszwurm attacked the method in court. About the future, Böröcz said he would like a transparent process but he can only negotiate with the owner after 1 October. He said the disappearance of the Ruszwurm pastry shop cannot be a solution since the trademark has a value even abroad, many people know it.

Photo: FB/Ruszwurm

Read also:

• ‘Hungarian Rome’ chosen among the most astonishing underrated cities in the world – read more HERE
• Astounding stairway leading to Buda Castle’s Sándor Palace is being rebuilt – details and photos in THIS article