Deterring penalties on the Hungarian railways: one route can cost EUR 128
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The Hungarian railways (MÁV Group) has announced on its website on Wednesday that, starting Thursday, a uniform penalty fare of HUF 25,000 (EUR 64) will apply across its trains, matching the amount charged in Budapest’s local transport and on the HÉV suburban rail network. This fine will be the same whether paid directly on board or via postal payment.
The testing period is over
Since last autumn, purchasing a ticket in advance has been compulsory within the Budapest suburban zone on MÁV Group trains; passengers are only allowed to board with a valid ticket or pass. Previously, those caught travelling without a valid ticket and paying the penalty fare on board benefited from a lower fine than if they settled the payment later by postal order.
The grace period for this regulation ends on 16 October, and from then on, a standardised penalty fare will be enforced, even though fare dodging, which now affects only one in 200 passengers, is becoming increasingly rare.
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The difference in penalty amounts was originally justified by the lower availability of self-service ticket purchasing options compared to the current situation.