BKK’s bizarre ticketing: how to get a cheaper longer season ticket in Budapest
From 1 September, some Budapest Transport Company (BKV) tickets and passes will have new prices. Along with this, the world’s most idiotic price increase has happened – read about it in this article.
We might find an explanation for the fact that a product becomes 31.31 percent more expensive overnight. These reasons could be either the evolution of energy prices or the general inflationary climate.
Inconsistent price changes
However, what BKK has done to the Budapest weekly ticket is quite interesting nevertheless. The BKK weekly ticket cost HUF 4,950 (EUR 12.43) in the past, until 1 September. Now, we have to pay HUF 6,500 (EUR 16.33) for one. This is a tough move in itself, but it is not unique, as can be seen from the list of fare changes. What is more, it is not the highest increase: the day ticket is going up from HUF 1,650 (EUR 4.14) to HUF 2,500 (EUR 6.28), which is an increase of 51.5 percent. The price of the Budapest 24-hour group ticket has increased by the same proportion: from HUF 3,300 (EUR 8.29) to HUF 5,000 (EUR 12.56).
However, in a structure that mixes different types of tickets and passes (e.g. time-based and line-based tickets), it is easy to fall into a trap if there is no systemic change in prices, Telex writes. BKV managed to slip into this: they did not change the price of half-monthly, 15-day passes, only the seven-day passes (which for some reason are not called weekly passes, but weekly tickets).
The weekly pass has lots its meaning
As the price of a half-month pass was, and still remains HUF 6,300 (EUR 15.85), the situation is that from 1 September, a 15-day pass is HUF 200 (EUR 0.5) cheaper than a 7-day pass (HUF 6,300 vs HUF 6,500). So the BKK weekly ticket has simply lost its meaning. It makes no sense that such a ticket can be bought. Anyone who does so is basically harming themselves, as they can buy a pass for the same amount of time (plus an extra 8 days) for HUF 200 less.
Source: Telex, Mandiner