Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tickets and passes
Standard single
tickets
(
Vonaljegy
) valid for the metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, the
Cog-
wheel Railway
and suburban HÉV lines (up to the edge of the city) cost 350Ft per journey
and are sold at train and metro stations, newspaper kiosks and tobacconists. There are also
an increasing number of coin-operated vending machines at bus and tram stops. Metro tick-
ets also come in a variety of other types, depending on whether you are changing trains and
how many stops you want to go: a short section metro ticket (
Metrószakasz
; 300Ft) takes you
three stops on the same line; a metro transfer ticket (
Atszállójegy
; 530Ft) is valid for as many
stops as you like with one line change. Tickets bought on board buses, trams and trolleybuses
cost 450Ft. Books of ten standard single tickets (
tíz-darabos gyüjtőjegy
- 3000Ft) are also
available - these are still valid if torn out of the topic but cannot be used on night services.
Tickets must be
validated
when you use them. On the metro and HÉV you punch them in
the machines at station entrances (remember to validate a new ticket if you change lines, un-
less you have a metro transfer ticket); on trams, buses and trolleybuses, you punch the tickets
on board in the small red or orange machines.
Day
passes
(
napijegy
) cost 1650Ft and are valid for unlimited travel from midnight to mid-
night on the metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, the Cogwheel Railway and suburban HÉV
lines; three-day passes cost 4150Ft and weekly passes 4950Ft.
Season tickets
cost 6300Ft
for two weeks and 9500Ft for a month, and are available from metro stations, but you'll need
a passport photo for the accompanying photocard; there are photo booths inside the entrance
of Deák tér and Széll Kálmán tér stations.
Children
uptotheageof6andEUcitizens overtheageof65travel freeonall public trans-
port, though in both cases some form of official documentation must be shown if challenged
by inspectors.
As in any big city,
beware of pickpockets
on all forms of public transport. Gangs distract
their victims by pushing them or blocking their way, and empty their pockets or bags at the
same time.
JUST THE TICKET
The myriad rules on Budapest's public transport system make it easy to catch foreigners
out,and
inspectors
(whowearblueorpurplearmbandssaying
jegyellenőr
)tendtobestrict
in levying 16,000Ft fines (8000Ft if you pay on the spot) for travelling without a valid tick-
et. Inspectors are plain-clothed, and only whip out their armbands once aboard. The easi-
est way to get fined is to fail to validate your ticket or when changing lines. If you feel
you've been fined unfairly you can try taking your complaint to the office at Akácfa utca
22 (Mon-Fri 7am-8pm, Sat 8am-2pm; 1 258 4636).
