Brutal price rises for public transport in Hungary from 1 July

From 1 July, there will be price increases for train, bus and HÉV (suburban railway line) transport. The price rises will be applied mainly for shorter distances. The reason is that the prices of so-called distance-based tickets will change. The shorter the distance, the more expensive the kilometre-based tickets will become.

Price rises in public transport fares

Fares are expected to rise from 1 July for train, bus and HÉV transport, mainly for shorter distances, Telex reports. The Ministry of Construction and Transport told the news portal that the review of the tariff system is ongoing and that further changes are expected in the future.

According to the portal, the order (letter) to increase ticket prices was also received by the top managers of MÁV-Start, GYSEV, Volánbusz and MÁV-HÉV, as well as several smaller transport companies. According to the list, the prices of so-called distance-based tickets will vary. The greater the distance, the lower the increase will be.

The new tarrifs

Initial indications are that the following will be the case from next month:

• HUF 400 instead of HUF 250 for distances of 0-10 kilometres;
• HUF 450 instead of HUF 310 for 10-15 km,
• HUF 500 instead of HUF 370 for 15-20 km,
• HUF 550 instead of HUF 465 for 20-25 kilometres,
• HUF 600 instead of HUF 560 for the 25-30 kilometre sections.

The figures show that both in nominal terms and as a percentage, shorter trips are getting more expensive, Telex explains.

Further information coming soon

According to the information available so far, the price increase will be the result of a more complex tariff reform. Telex also wrote that positive changes may soon be announced in addition to the price increases.

The portal reached out to the Ministry of Construction and Transport. The response was the following:

“Since the introduction of country and county passes, the tariff system has been under review and further changes are expected in the future. However, this will not lead to an increase in prices, but to simpler and more unrestricted access to services overall, which will be communicated to the public soon.”

We wrote about the newly introduced county and country passes in more detail in THIS article.