Under the Cover of Night

Although the cleaners of B+N start work at 11 PM, the actual cleaning only begins after the last metro leaves.

“While passengers are still at the station, we can only perform minor tasks, such as collecting trash and dusting. There isn’t much time for proper cleaning because we must be finished an hour before the first passengers arrive. That gives us about three hours. During this time, we need to remove graffiti, disinfect surfaces, and mop the entire station,” – says Tamás, the team leader of cleaners working on the Deák Square metro line, speaking to Economx.hu.

Work doesn’t stop in the technical areas either; during the night, on-duty staff inspect the tunnels and technical equipment.

The cleaners also need permission from them to proceed. Entering the closed metro system requires more than just wearing a B+N vest; the cleaners must also hold a work permit.

“Of course, there is cleaning staff present during the day as well, but they focus on maintaining the technical areas and cleaning up after minor accidents. 

Usually, this involves spilt coffee or soda, but sometimes we have to clean up traces of actual accidents,”- reveals Mónika, a regional manager responsible primarily for cleaning tram lines, who occasionally helps coordinate metro cleaning teams.

Trash Collection and Carrying Loads

Trash is removed twice a week by a special train designated for this task.

 The garbage collected at the station is stored in trash containers. It’s similar to how garbage trucks operate at home, except this happens underground, emptying bins into a diesel train.

Even though trash doesn’t need to be carried out of the tunnel, cleaners still have to move a lot of weight.

 With escalators out of operation, they carry buckets filled with water and equipment up and down hundreds of steps, especially during weekly and monthly deep cleaning sessions.

Robotic Assistance

B+N aims to ease its staff’s daily cleaning tasks by using cobots to clean platforms. 

While autonomous, these are not robots in the traditional sense—they don’t replace human workers but make their jobs easier.

“Although people often call them robots, these are actually autonomous commercial floor-cleaning machines. We operate a total of 22 of them across the four metro lines. They can clean around 800 to 1,300 sqm per hour, which is a great help given the large spaces here,” – explains András Vezér, a development technician at B+N Referencia Zrt.

B+N Referencia Zrt. ‘s first “robot,” named Robin, debuted in 2016. 

Since then, the company’s Research and Development team has continuously improved the model’s efficiency.

“In 2016, we were among the top three companies in robotics. Since then, many new companies specializing in this technology have entered the market. But our goal is not to compete with them; rather, we want to make our own work easier and of higher quality,” – says András Vezér.

The Most Common Types of Dirt

When asked what types of trash and dirt B+N cleaners encounter most frequently, everyone mentions chewing gum and human waste.

“Human waste in all forms… though it’s far more common on trams than on the metro. Seats are particularly vulnerable. As soon as we notice such incidents, the affected car is immediately removed from service, and for hygiene reasons, we replace the seat entirely. During car cleaning, we also find all sorts of bizarre items—from used tampons to fallen false eyelashes and fake moustaches,” says Mónika.

It’s not the metro fairy erasing the traces

As 4 AM approaches, the B+N cleaners are finishing their work. The team looks around with satisfaction. “By tomorrow night, there’ll be no trace left,” they say, laughing. The escalators will again be covered in stickers, the seats and cars marked with graffiti, and the floors dotted with spat-out gum. 

“Sometimes we’d like to tell those responsible that it’s not a metro fairy erasing their traces. We’re people cleaning up after them at night,” says one cleaner, packing to head home before the first metro arrives.

Founded in 1993, B+N Referencia Zrt. has grown into Hungary’s leading facility management company over the past three decades. With more than 14,000 domestic employees, the company ranks among Hungary’s top ten employers.

In recent years, B+N Referencia Zrt. has successfully entered the international market and now operates in eight countries, making it one of the leading facility management companies in the region. B+N employees also handle cleaning for the Budapest Transport Company (BKV).

Image: Economx / Tamás Hartl Nagy

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