Budapest Vacation Service...Budapest Public Transport and Taxis Advice
At Budapest Vacation Service our aim is not only to provide first-class Budapest apartments in holiday flats and vacation rental accommodation, but to give useful advice, hints and tips to ensure an enjoyable, interesting and safe holiday in Budapest.See useful information here concerning the Budapest Public Transport system and Budapest Taxis.
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Budapest Public Transport
Travelling by public transport in Budapest is fast, reliable and fairly inexpensive.
Budapest has an extensive network of public transport services, operated by BKV Zrt., which includes underground trains (Metro), buses, trolleybuses, trams. Overground trains (HÉV), which serve the suburbs of Budapest, extend north to Szentendre, east to Gödöllő and Csömör and to Csepel and Ráckeve in the south.
See full map of the metro, tram and overground train systems here
Operating hours
For operating hours and frequency, please refer to the BKV web site at: http://www.bkv.hu/english/home/index.html#
Tickets
Tickets for travel are available at metro stations and from vending machines at several bus and tram stops in the city, and should be bought before boarding. There are several options available, from a single ticket to 1, 3 and 7 day travel cards and monthly passes.
For a list of the various options and current prices, please see;
http://www.bkv.hu/english/jegyinfo/fares.html
and,
http://www.bkv.hu/english/feltetelek/index.html
Upon production of a valid identification document, such as passport, ID card etc., citizens of member states of the European Union over the age of 65 years can travel free of charge on BKV services.
Tickets for the metro, trams and bus routes are valid for one single journey of any length. Tickets that allow a change of route and include the HÉV overground trains to the Budapest suburbs are also available.
Important
Tickets need to be validated at the start of each journey. Ticket validation machines are located at metro stations, usually coloured orange and located at the top of the escalator or at the entrance to the platform, and on buses and trams, these are either red or orange and are found on the upright hand-rails, close to the doors.
Each ticket is valid for one single sector of the total journey. If, for example, the journey involves a change of metro line, bus or tram route, a new ticket for each sector must be validated.
It is essential to validate a ticket before travel and to retain this ticket for some minutes after disembarking.
At metro stations, BKV inspectors are present at the entrances and often exits of metro stations, and frequently board buses and trams to check passengers tickets. Inspectors may, or may not be in uniform and will produce a blue or red BKV armband when they start their inspections.
Failure to validate a ticket will result in a penalty, presently (since 1. January 2012) 16,000 Hungarian Forints (about 55 Euro), if paid to the BKV inspector on-the-spot and may delay your journey. The inspector is obliged to show his BKV identification card and issue a receipt for any penalty paid. BKV inspectors have little sympathy for visitors claiming that they did not know the rules and will often threaten to call the police should any passenger caught without a valid ticket refuse to pay the fine.
Budapest Taxis
Traveling across the city generally takes longer than by public transport due to the volume of traffic in Budapest, bridge closures etc., however if you decide to take a taxi, the following should be noted:
You should always ask the price for the trip before the taxi starts the journey. The drivers are obliged to use their meter and you can insist that they do. If you hail a taxi on the street, the price may be substantially higher than if you pick one up at a taxi rank, even if the meter is used. If you have to hail a taxi, try to get one with a yellow number plate and a taxi company name on the doors and a tariff list inside the car, usually on the rear window and again on the dashboard.
In addition to taxi ranks, taxis can be found outside most major hotels, shopping malls and railway stations.
It is also possible to call a taxi or order it in advance. We suggest the following companies as being reliable.
City Taxi: Tel: +36 1 347 8062
Tele5 Taxi: Tel: +36 30 3 555 555
Please click links below to see their web sites:
City Taxi
Tele5 Taxi
Travelling by public transport in Budapest is fast, reliable and fairly inexpensive.
Budapest has an extensive network of public transport services, operated by BKV Zrt., which includes underground trains (Metro), buses, trolleybuses, trams. Overground trains (HÉV), which serve the suburbs of Budapest, extend north to Szentendre, east to Gödöllő and Csömör and to Csepel and Ráckeve in the south.
See full map of the metro, tram and overground train systems here
Operating hours
For operating hours and frequency, please refer to the BKV web site at: http://www.bkv.hu/english/home/index.html#
Tickets
Tickets for travel are available at metro stations and from vending machines at several bus and tram stops in the city, and should be bought before boarding. There are several options available, from a single ticket to 1, 3 and 7 day travel cards and monthly passes.
For a list of the various options and current prices, please see;
http://www.bkv.hu/english/jegyinfo/fares.html
and,
http://www.bkv.hu/english/feltetelek/index.html
Upon production of a valid identification document, such as passport, ID card etc., citizens of member states of the European Union over the age of 65 years can travel free of charge on BKV services.
Tickets for the metro, trams and bus routes are valid for one single journey of any length. Tickets that allow a change of route and include the HÉV overground trains to the Budapest suburbs are also available.
Important
Tickets need to be validated at the start of each journey. Ticket validation machines are located at metro stations, usually coloured orange and located at the top of the escalator or at the entrance to the platform, and on buses and trams, these are either red or orange and are found on the upright hand-rails, close to the doors.
Each ticket is valid for one single sector of the total journey. If, for example, the journey involves a change of metro line, bus or tram route, a new ticket for each sector must be validated.
It is essential to validate a ticket before travel and to retain this ticket for some minutes after disembarking.
At metro stations, BKV inspectors are present at the entrances and often exits of metro stations, and frequently board buses and trams to check passengers tickets. Inspectors may, or may not be in uniform and will produce a blue or red BKV armband when they start their inspections.
Failure to validate a ticket will result in a penalty, presently (since 1. January 2012) 16,000 Hungarian Forints (about 55 Euro), if paid to the BKV inspector on-the-spot and may delay your journey. The inspector is obliged to show his BKV identification card and issue a receipt for any penalty paid. BKV inspectors have little sympathy for visitors claiming that they did not know the rules and will often threaten to call the police should any passenger caught without a valid ticket refuse to pay the fine.
Budapest Taxis
Traveling across the city generally takes longer than by public transport due to the volume of traffic in Budapest, bridge closures etc., however if you decide to take a taxi, the following should be noted:
You should always ask the price for the trip before the taxi starts the journey. The drivers are obliged to use their meter and you can insist that they do. If you hail a taxi on the street, the price may be substantially higher than if you pick one up at a taxi rank, even if the meter is used. If you have to hail a taxi, try to get one with a yellow number plate and a taxi company name on the doors and a tariff list inside the car, usually on the rear window and again on the dashboard.
In addition to taxi ranks, taxis can be found outside most major hotels, shopping malls and railway stations.
It is also possible to call a taxi or order it in advance. We suggest the following companies as being reliable.
City Taxi: Tel: +36 1 347 8062
Tele5 Taxi: Tel: +36 30 3 555 555
Please click links below to see their web sites:
City Taxi
Tele5 Taxi
For more information on the Budapest Public Transport system and an explanation on how to validate tickets, watch this useful clip.
Double click to enlarge.
Double click to enlarge.
Taxi rank sign - usually mounted on a pole
Budapest Public Transport ticket inspectors armbands
For information on taxi services from and to Budapest Liszt Ferenc airport, please see
Airport Transfer information
Airport Transfer information
Of course, a healthier alternative to public transport or taxi is to rent a bike.
Please see information on cycle paths and bike rental in Budapest
Please see information on cycle paths and bike rental in Budapest