Following the increase in taxi fares in Budapest from 1 August, passengers paying more were, by Monday morning, in no great position to arrive at the Budapest Airport on time, as everything ground to a halt. Horns blared; expletives flew.
From today, the system in the airport car park has also been overhauled, meaning it is no longer possible to drive in free of charge as many times as one likes.
Taxi drivers to pay for almost every entry
The new airport payment system went live on Monday at Liszt Ferenc International Airport, but early reports suggest it caused serious disruption, Totalcar reports. Even at dawn, taxis were queuing in long lines, and the congestion did not fully clear later on. Everyone seemed equally displeased: passengers lost time and money, drivers sat in the jam, and all the while they could even be charged for the privilege.
From 3 August, the previous five-minute free passage window has effectively disappeared for Budapest taxis. They may still enter the airport car parks free of charge once a day for five minutes, but every further entry must be paid for.
On the first day of the change, a major tailback had already formed at daybreak. A TikTok video shared by Totalcar showed taxis lined up in a long queue, while posts on Reddit said traffic was heavy anyway because of the early low-cost flights. Owing to the congestion, many drivers even exceeded the 30-minute limit, pushing the exit fee up to 6,600 forints. The drivers thanked the airport with a chorus of horns.
One commenter said the chaos was not confined to the early hours: by midday, matters were scarcely better. Airport staff eventually lifted the barrier after a 10-minute wait and let everyone out without payment.
Drivers complain, but Budapest Airport will not bend
For taxi drivers, the chaos came at an especially sensitive moment, as Budapest taxi fares also rose from 1 August: the base fare increased to 1,300 forints, the kilometre rate to 521 forints, and the per-minute charge to 130 forints. Airport transfers also carry an 800-forint surcharge, so passengers are hardly unreasonable to expect to get there on time.
Budapest taxi fares rise from today – airport pickups also become more expensive
The Budapest Taxi Association had previously warned that the system could create chaos, and that passengers might even have to walk as far as 1,100 metres to the terminal entrance. Zoltán Metál, president of the National Taxi Association, said drivers were notified of the change only two weeks earlier, and that no prior consultation had taken place.
Budapest Airport, by contrast, insists it has not introduced a new fee, but merely ended the previous special treatment for Budapest taxis. In its view, the aim is for all passenger transport operators to use airport infrastructure on the same terms.
‘Temporary’ disruption, says airport
The airport operator said congestion is in any case common during the summer peak season, particularly at dawn and between 10am and 11am. It said Monday’s new payment system merely intensified that situation temporarily and to a minimal extent.
Budapest Airport says several payment methods are available, and recommends the Bónusz Card for taxi drivers, with balances deducted automatically after each entry. It also said that anyone who could prove they had incurred extra costs because of the congestion, and who reported this on the spot, had their exit fee reduced to 800 forints, while the first day’s exit charge was waived.
The airport has since indicated that it is prepared to fine-tune the system in light of experience.
Video: Foreign men drag Hungarian driver from his car in central Budapest — what sparked their fury
It seems that the few extra seconds in takes to pay at the exit are causing the problem, potentially aggravated even further if taxi drivers don’t have their payment card immediately to hand. Whereas previously they drove up to the barrier and it opened automatically after reading the number plate, each taxi now needs to insert the ticket, wait for the charge to be calculated and to then insert the payment card. This takes some further seconds to be processed before the barrier eventually opens. They really need to get a handle of this as the charge jumps up massively after 5 minutes, meaning if there’s the slightest queue to exit everyone is paying through the nose through no fault of their own and the elevated amount charged after exceeding 5 minutes represents a significant chunk of the actual fare. If this continues then taxi drivers are going to refuse airport rides. Meanwhile, I’d imagine that Fotaxi are sitting pretty as their cars will be excluded from the 5 minute restriction as they sometimes sit on the rank outside the terminal waiting for a fare; there’s no way they’ll be paying more than 800 Forints to exit.
The bottom line is that Budapest airport is just too small (landside and in terms of road space in front of the terminals) for the quantity of passengers seeking to pass through its doors. Check in areas can be suffocatingly hot and rammed with passengers during peak times. Security provisions are adequate and there’s seldom a long queue there and once airside the space is positively expansive, but the check in and arrivals areas are way too crowded.
I think I may try the airport bus for the first time when I arrive in Budapest.
100E from Déak ferenc or Kalvin tér. quite quick and reasonable price 5€ only.
I highly recommend it
when you come to Budapest please let me know we can invite you for a drink ;D
Do try it. It’s virtually non-stop and almost as fast as taking a taxi. In fact, it can be faster as it uses the tram tracks through Astoria which taxis cannot do. Only downside is that the buses can get rather crowded.
Track hack: even the 100E is FREE if you’re over 65. If you’re not yet of retirement age and have a monthly travel pass, you can buy tickets for the 100E for only 900 Ft. compared to 2500 Ft.