Public transport in Budapest

The Budapest Transport Company (BKV) is responsible for the transport of the Hungarian capital. The BKV operates 194 bus, 31 tram, 14 trolley buses, 3 metro and 5 suburban railway (HÉV) lines. Beside the above mentioned networks the Budapest Transport Company operates such special vehicles of transport as racking-railway (fogaskerekű vasút), funicular in the Castle of Buda (Budavári Sikló), lift to John Hill (János-hegyi libegő) and ferry-boat. The public vehicles run generally from 4.30 AM till 11.30 PM or midnight, the timetable can be changed according to the part of day and the season. The BKV operates more than 20 night lines, with frequency of 30-60 minutes, connecting the inner city and the suburbs of Budapest, between 11.30 PM and 4.30 AM.

You have to buy a ticket - which can be daily, weekend, weekly, biweekly and monthly one - or a travel pass to use vehicles of transport. After taking a bus or tram the tickets should be validated at the red or orange punch slots on board, but for taking a metro you should validate it before going down to the tunnel at the orange punch slots on the underground station. At the underground ticket offices, ticket machine, tobacco-shops or kiosk you can buy the following type of tickets: daily, weekend, weekly, biweekly and monthly ones. On the metro, usually one ticket is valid only for one line, and new tickets must be used all the time you change lines. If you plan to spend in Budapest more than one day, it's worth buying 3-day tourist ticket, weekly travel pass or Budapest Card which ensures more discounts (for example at cultural and folklore programs, in restaurants and thermal baths, at rent a car services). Take attention to validate your ticket, avoiding the expensive spot fine.

Budapest has three metro lines (M1 - Millennium Underground Railway/yellow, M2/red, M3/blue), connecting at Deák square (Deák tér), so you can change lines only there. The Millennium Underground Railway (M1) which was the first underground railway in Europe, started operating in 1896. It's part of the UNESCO’s universal cultural heritage together with Andrássy street since 2002. Concerning the cycle paths in Budapest, the Hungarian capital tries to join the other European cycle-friend cities. Today the network of cycle path in Budapest covers more that 100 km, and according to the plans further 200 km will be preparing by 2010.