Hungarian public transport company to increase prices drastically

Hungarian public transport company Volánbusz will drastically increase surcharges from 1 April. It is not worth trying to save money by not buying a ticket.

The regional and suburban public transportation company will considerably increase its surcharges. Volánbusz tries to encourage people to purchase their ticket, index.hu reports.

In 2022, the inspectors imposed a total of HUF 98 million (EUR 252,000) in surcharges in 12.5 thousand cases during the inspection of 186,000 trips.

Recently the Budapest Public Transport Company (BKK) doubled its surcharges to penalise offenders more severely and encourage them to buy tickets. Now Volánbusz, which is responsible for suburban, regional, national, and international public transportation decided to do the same.

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Two-fold increase

From 1 April the surcharges will increase from HUF 8,000 (EUR 20) to HUF 25,000 (EUR 64) if paid within 30 days. If offenders do not pay their surcharge within 30 days, the fee goes from HUF 12,000 (EUR 30) to HUF 50,000 (EUR 128).

For those who would like to pay their fee on the spot – and within 3 days as a new option -, the surcharge increases from HUF 8,000 (EUR 20) to HUF 12,000 (EUR 30).

Entitled funding

According to a press release from Volánbusz, their inspectors usually have to impose fees for passengers not collecting their tickets after paying, or they cannot prove their entitlement to a discount. In this case, either their discount has expired or they use an invalid document (student card, official card, voucher for the benefit of the insured).

For Volánbusz, as a public service provider, it is a priority to “perform its tasks to the highest standard”. To achieve that, it is essential for the company to “collect the revenue it is entitled to”.

From May, the Hungarian government will introduce new types of travel cards as well. The national travel card will enable you to travel on every Hungarian bus and train line operated by the MÁV-Start, MÁV-HÉV, GYSEV railway companies and the Volánbusz national bus firm. However, the new card will not be valid in the capital, where the Budapest travel card remains in use.

Read alsoHungary’s public transport system fundamentally changes: new travelcards introduced

Source: index.hu