Budapest, 26 February 2024 – The transformation of the pass system has reached its final stage: after the approval of the General Assembly of the Municipality of Budapest and the signing of the seven-sided agreement, Budapest-passes can be purchased at even more favourable prices from 1 March 2024. After 10 years, the price of the full-price monthly pass will be reduced again: it will be 8,950 HUF and will remain valid throughout the capital on MÁV, Volánbusz and HÉV suburban railway services. The change will equally benefit Budapest-pass holders and commuters from the metropolitan area, as the Pest County and Hungary Passes will be accepted on BKK lines in addition to the Budapest-pass. BudapestGO is a one-stop shop: from 28 February, all types of passes can be purchased in the app, and a single interface is available for planning local and metropolitan area trips and for finding out about the current traffic situation. The Pass Acceptance Agreement, which comes into force in the spring, will make public transport simpler and cheaper, a major milestone for the liveability of Budapest.
Friday, 1 March 2024 marks the start of a new era for public transport in Budapest and the metropolitan area. The simple and easy-to-understand system will make it even more worthwhile to buy a Budapest-pass, as the price of a monthly pass will be reduced to 8,950 HUF, offering
• unlimited travel on all lines within the administrative boundaries of Budapest costing less than 300 HUF per day for monthly pass holders;
• a good choice for those who only use public transport in the capital.
The price of other full-price passes will be adjusted to the change: 15-day, quarterly and annual Budapest-passes will also be affected, costing 6,300 HUF instead of 5,950 HUF, 26,850 HUF instead of 28,500 HUF and 99,950 HUF instead of 103,000 HUF from 1 March.
Mutual pass acceptance from 1 March 2024
Following the agreement between the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, and the Minister of Construction and Transport, János Lázár, the Ministry of Construction and Transport (ÉKM), the Municipality of Budapest, BKK Zrt., GYSEV Zrt., MÁV-HÉV Zrt., MÁV-START Zrt. and VOLÁNBUSZ Zrt:
• the Budapest-pass will remain valid throughout the capital city on all BKK lines, Volánbusz suburban(blue) and Volánbusz regional (yellow) buses, MÁV-HÉV suburban railway lines and all MÁV-START Hungarian State Railway services within Budapest in the 2nd class;
• the monthly Pest County Pass and the monthly Hungary Pass are accepted on BKK services;
• 24- and 72-hour daily travelcards of BKK are valid within the administrative boundaries of Budapest, in addition to BKK services, on the (blue) Volánbusz suburban and (yellow) regional bus services, on MÁV-HÉV services and on all MÁV-START railway services (2nd class) within Budapest;
• BKK's single tickets and time-based tickets are valid on BKK services, as well as on the suburban bus services of Volánbusz (blue buses) and MÁV-HÉV within the administrative boundaries of Budapest;
• the Pest vármegye24 and Magyarország24 day tickets are accepted within the administrative boundaries of Budapest on the Volánbusz suburban (blue) and (yellow) regional lines, on MÁV-HÉV suburban railway lines and on all MÁV-START Hungarian State railway lines for travel within Budapest in the 2nd class.
From 1 March, metropolitan area tickets and passes sold by BKK will be discontinued, and after the expiry of the existing passes, you can travel with a Pest County or Hungary Pass.
Buy tickets and passes in BudapestGO
For easy and environmentally friendly ticket purchase, all types of tickets will be available for purchase in the BudapestGO app from Wednesday, 28 February and will continue to be available through other sales channels: customer service centres, ticket offices, ticket vending machines (TVMs).
On Tuesday 27 February, BKK will temporarily switch off the automatic pass renewal function for customers who have previously set it up. This will give all pass holders the opportunity to activate this convenience function for the type of pass that best suits them in the future. The details will be communicated by email. The automatic renewal function can be activated or deactivated at any time when purchasing a new pass or for an existing pass.
Technical changeover for TVMs
The changes coming into force on 1 March will also affect the product range available on the BKK ticket vending machine network, therefore all machines will be out of operation from 23:45 on Thursday, 29 February until half an hour due to the technical changeover. After the upgrade, the machines will be available for regular operation.
The development of public transport for people living in the metropolitan area and those travelling to and from the capital is of key importance for Budapest, which is why BKK has implemented significant digital developments in recent years to make it easier to plan journeys and buy tickets conveniently. The BudapestGO application now includes real-time data for MÁV-HÉV suburban railway and MÁV-START commuter trains, and then for regional Volán buses in the Budapest area. Most recently, door-to-door planning has been added to the app for hundreds of thousands of commuters every day.
BKK will compensate on a pro rata basis those who have already bought their annual, semester or quarterly pass
BKK particularly values loyal passengers who have pre-purchased quarterly, semester or annual Budapest-pass, and will compensate on a pro-rata basis those individuals who have pre-purchased their passes in recent months due to the price reduction effective from 1 March.
Full-price Budapest-pass holders
• in case of an annual pass, you are entitled to a BKK voucher worth 1000, 2000 or 3000 HUF, depending on the date of purchase and validity;
• in case of a quarterly pass receive a 1,000 HUF BKK voucher.
Students who have a discounted Budapest-pass
• for an annual pass, a BKK voucher of between 3,000 HUF and 25,000 HUF, depending on the date of purchase and validity;
• 12,000 HUF BKK voucher for semester pass holders;
• in case of a quarterly pass, you can get a BKK voucher of 2000, 3000 or 5000 HUF, depending on the date of purchase.
Pensioners who have a discounted Budapest-pass
• for an annual pass you can get a BKK voucher between 2,000 and 23,000 HUF, depending on the date of purchase;
• in case of a quarterly pass, you can get a BKK voucher of 2000, 3000 or 5000 HUF, depending on the date of purchase.
Passengers entitled to compensation can calculate the exact value of the voucher using a calculator on the BKK website.
The BKK voucher can be collected at BKK Customer Service Centres from 1 March to 31 March 2024 by presenting a valid pass or transaction ID. The voucher can be used for one year to purchase any BKK product, a Pest County or Hungary Pass.
