Budapest, 6 November 2024 – BKK Centre for Budapest Transport is making it easier for its customers to use digital passes. The mobility manager is developing a so-called "boarding" button in the BudapestGO application, an enhancement of the currently available "metro" button for street-level transport. With the new feature, which will be available for passes and daily travelcards, there will be no need to scan the code, tapping on the button will immediately display the animation to be presented for control. In parallel, BKK is also looking into the further development and the possibility of a full extension of the Budapest Pay&GO system, in line with customer needs.
The number of users of digital payment solutions in public transport in Budapest is constantly increasing. In recent years, modern technological solutions have become more widespread, and customers are increasingly using and seeking digital sales channels, such as the BudapestGO app or the Budapest Pay&GO system, which BKK introduced last year as a test. While at the beginning of 2023, less than a quarter of BKK's customers bought tickets and passes through BudapestGO, the company's proprietary app, one in three tickets and passes are now purchased digitally.
Easier ticket and pass validation
BKK is constantly researching customer needs and developing its services in the light of feedback to make public transport more attractive for more people. The company wants to make it easier to use digital tickets and passes in the future, so it will further develop the "metro" button currently available in the application. In the future, the so-called "boarding" button, which can also be used on vehicles providing street-level transport (trams, buses and trolleybuses), will also appear on passes and daily travelcards and will be accessible from both the app and the widget. The new feature, which is expected to be available from December, will eliminate the need to scan a code, simply click on the 'boarding' button when ready to get on board a vehicle, select the current line and the animation will appear, which needs to be presented to the driver when you must board through the front door or at the metro station entrance when access control staff are on duty.
In parallel with the roll-out, BKK plans to phase out the NFC ticket validation stickers on vehicles, replacing them with the traditional QR code versions. The main reason for this is that NFC stickers, which are also on the exteriors of vehicles, are exposed to extreme weather conditions and therefore more easily damaged than traditional stickers, and their replacement is a significant additional cost. In addition, only a minority of passengers use NFC ticket validation and it is of utmost importance for BKK to continuously test different digital payment solutions, taking into account international best practices, and to decide on their extension or possible withdrawal in the light of customer feedback and usage patterns.
The company will continue to replace defective stickers with traditional QR code versions, and points out that stickers should only be used for validating occasional tickets (single ride and time-based), as pass holders need only show their pass when they are checked.
BKK may extend the Pay&GO payment service to the whole territory of Budapest
In response to the changing payment habits of its customers, BKK is looking into the possibility of further developing the Pay&GO system and extending it to the whole city. In this context, BKK launched a preliminary market consultation as part of a public procurement procedure this summer to examine the conditions under which it could make the Pay&GO digital payment service available throughout the entire territory of Budapest and how it could further develop the system.
Pay&GO, currently available on the 100E Airport Express bus and metro line M1, has quickly caught on with the capital's travellers, with nearly 1.8 million tickets purchased since its launch. According to BKK data, nearly 35-38% of tickets on the Airport Express are already purchased through the system, while 25-30% of passengers on the M1 metro pay with Pay&GO.
