Greg Spencer, an American expat, has used a bike to get around Budapest since 2002. He often rants about cars (and raves about cycling and other alternatives at cyclingsolution.blogspot.hu), and on the topic of a congestion charge in Budapest he comments,

"Of course, the city leadership is terrified of alienating car owners and is desperate to find another way to tax themselves out of the metro 4 quagmire... With congestion charging, at least you'd have a choice: drive downtown and pay or bike or walk and go for free. Or car pool and split the fee with your colleagues.

Or take BKV, which as of January 1 costs HUF 350 per ticket. That gets expensive, particularly if you have journeys that require a change of lines. Every change costs another HUF 350. But ... why should a public transport user have to pay an extortionate fee to use an environmentally friendly, space efficient means of travel while car users go for free over the same public roads?"

On the topic Eltis.org reports that, "Due to delays in the development of public transport, Budapest cannot realistically impose a congestion charge until 2016, according to local media citing the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK).

That timing could jeopardise 181 billion forints (EUR 640 million) in EU subsidies, which were conditional on Budapest implementing the charge by 2015. According to BKK, the charge cannot be implemented until the city’s “public transport network is completed”, a news site wrote, apparently referring to the EU-supported fourth metro project. This will be achieved in 2015, and the following year a network of park and rides can be established, all of which is needed before the charge can take effect.

Last summer, Parliament voted against legislation enabling the congestion charge at a national level. Instead, a public utilities tax is expected to bring in 10 billion forints, approximately what was originally expected from the congestion charge, the reports said."