Budapest public transport in trouble: still no electricity contract

The soaring energy and utility prices cause almost insoluble problems for every local government in Hungary, including Budapest. Since the public transport system is in the hands of Budapest, their task is to find a way to keep it operable even during the energy crisis. Here is what the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, said about the issue in an interview.

Karácsony was elected to lead the capital of Hungary in 2019, long before the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. That year marked important opposition victories in many Hungarian rural municipialities and Budapest. United opposition candidates won several districts in Budapest, providing a comfortable majority for Karácsony. Furthermore, after a 9-year-long Fidesz leadership, the capital’s financial background was solid. Now, the latter is only the past.

Neither the Budapest Transport Company (BKV) nor the company responsible for street lighting has an electricity purchase contract, and nothing is on the horizon either. Karácsony told Népszava that they have the best team of professionals in that regard, so they would find a solution to buy electricity cheaper. However, he added there might come a moment Budapest would not be able to pay its bills. But they will never shut the public transportation or street lighting.