Based on a survey conducted by the University of Stuttgart, Budapest has the third most expensive public transport system in Europe, preceded only by Zagreb and London (out of 23 cities surveyed).

At the same time Budapest residents are complaining that they have to wait lengthier period for the transport system on various routes, many of which have been combined.

It is estimated that the Budapest Transport Co. (BKV) is loosing some HUF 10-bil per annum due to free-riders on the system.

Also BKV controllers have gained a very infamous reputation among tourists as they do not speak adequate English, are less tolerant with foreigners and generally corrupt for bribes.

One German tourist, who had a validated ticket on the underground metro, was surrounded by BKV controllers claiming his ticket had expired and that he should pay a fine of EUR 20.

Ironically, despite being a member of the EU, Hungary still has not adopted the single currency and the German tourist was a banker aware of this and threatened to report his ‘abductors’ unless they let him go.

In 1982 a passenger in Budapest paid HUF 1 to board the underground metro, while today a passenger pays HUF 320.

Although journey times and connections between destinations in the capital are generally acceptable by European standards – the comfort, cleanliness and physical condition of rolling stock requires attention.

In the past years there were frequent reports Budapest’s buses catching fire, homeless and unemployed people urinating on various vehicles and overcrowding of passengers on the rides.

Experts said Budapest has lost popularity due to high fares and overall expense. The Paris of the East, as it is often referred to by Hungarians, was found to have the most expensive public transport system in the CEE region.

Although billions of forints are being pumped into Budapest’s public transport each year to improve efficiency, an increasing number of passengers find it more affordable to use alternative means (bicycles, scooters, taxis and even auto lift club groups).

In April 2008 BKV’s number 9 bus (pictured) advertised the sale of cars on its units and at the same time increased ticket prices by almost 25%.

Experts believe that less passengers on public transport units will compel BKV to eventually cut prices by as much as 20-30% to win back passengers."

By Tamas S. Kiss, published on XpatLoop.com with the permission of  BudapestReport.com