How to get around Budapest – A guide to public transport

1/10

Info & apps

The easiest way to buy tickets and access up-to-date timetables is via the BudapestGO app, available for Android and iOS. Budapest transport company BKK has offices at key stations such as Deák Ferenc tér,Déli pályaudvar and Keleti pályaudvar. They also sell tickets and distribute paper maps.

Maps

Timetables

2/10

Budapest Airport to city centre

The Airport Express, 100E bus, is the best service from the airport to town by public transport. Running 24/7, it takes 40 minutes to get to downtown Budapest, calling at Kálvin tér, Astoria and Deák Ferenc tér. Tickets cost 2,200 forints, which you can buy and validate directly on the bus using your bank card for the Budapest Pay&GO service. 

Moreover, the 200E bus sets off for South Pest from the airport, calling at many stops en route. The terminus 25 minutes away is the last station on the blue metro M3, Kőbánya-Kispest. Standard BKK tickets (HUF 450) are valid on this route, but you’ll need to use another for your onward journey. 

There are Customer Service Points at Terminals 2A (daily 8 am-10 pm) and 2B (daily 9 am-9 pm), with English-speaking staff. 

Alternatively, you can hop into a taxi – Főtaxi, Uber, and Bolt are all reliable companies. The ride to the city centre should cost around HUF 10,000-13,000 (EUR 26-33).

3/10

Buying tickets

Tickets and passes can be purchased with the BudapestGO app. Alternatively, you can use the English-friendly machines at metro stations, tram and bus stops. The BudapestGO app has a map with their locations. Newsstands also sell tickets. Machines take cards and Hungarian forints in cash. 


BKK offices (look out for the purple signage) operate within main stations such as Deák Ferenc tér, Déli pályaudvar and Keleti pályaudvar and many more. Assistants can provide information and maps as well as tickets – a machine by the door dispenses numbers to find your place in the queue. You can also buy from the driver on trams and buses, cash only, 600 forints for a single ticket as opposed to the 450 forints if bought in advance.

4/10

Ticket types

Single tickets
A single ticket (vonaljegy, HUF 450) is for any one-way, uninterrupted ride on any bus, tram, trolleybus or metro line from one end of the line to the other. Transfers are permitted between metro lines but not between types of transport. There are no returns available. If you're changing types of transport, there are transfer and time-based tickets available, see below.
More information

Any ticket purchased directly from the driver costs 600 forints.
More information

Ten trips
There’s a discount if you buy ten tickets at a time, tíz darabos gyűtőjegy. This little booklet costs 4,000 forints, so a 500-forint saving than if you buy ten individually, and are issued as single tickets. This allows you the freedom to use as you wish.
More information

However, if you plan on using public transport frequently over a certain period of time, you may consider a longer-term pass (see below, Time-based tickets & passes). 

Boat tickets
Main city boat lines D2, D11 and D12 are currently suspended, with only the D14 ferry line running between Csepel and Molnár islands. A full-fare ferry ticket costs HUF 150, but Budapest passes and travel cards are also accepted.

5/10

Validating tickets

Paper tickets must be validated before boarding the metro. Tickets for buses and trams are validated after you board – some buses require you to enter via the front door and show your pass to the driver or validate your ticket in the machine next to him. Failure to validate your ticket can result in a fine when inspectors come around, HUF 12,000 forints if paid on the spot, and HUF 25,000 if paid within 30 days. 

How to validate
The metro and modern vehicles are equipped with orange machines – insert your ticket into the slot in the middle. You will hear it whirr as it stamps your ticket. Should a machine fail to work, find another one – there will be a row at the top of metro escalators and along each vehicle. Paper tickets will have a silver strip at one end, and a grid with numbers at the other end. Validate the end with the grid. While it seems excessive, some ticket checkers will fine you for validating the wrong end.

Older vehicles contain red punchers. Insert the grid end of the ticket, with the grid facing you, into the slot, and pull the black lever towards you. You should hear it manually punching the ticket. Again, if it doesn’t work, there will be other punchers further along the carriage. 

You can only use virtual tickets purchased through the BudapestGo app as well. In this case, you need to scan the QR code before getting on a vehicle, or present the ticket / pass to the inspector before descending to the metro.

See this video for validating tickets:

6/10

Time-based tickets & passes

Recently introduced time-based tickets for 30 minutes (HUF 530) and 90 minutes (HUF 750) allow unlimited use of the metro, buses, suburban trains (HÉV) etc, within the city limits. As long as you start the final section of your journey within the time limit, your ticket will still be valid.

24- and 72-hour travel passes
Valid for 24 hours (HUF 2,500 HUF) and 72 hours (HUF 5,500) after purchase, these allow unlimited trips within the city limits. No validation is required before travel.  

Longer travel passes
A valid photo ID must also accompany travel cards for 15 days (HUF 5,950), and passes for a month (HUF 8,950), or a year (HUF 99,950). Note that lost passes are not refundable. Most Hungarians put their pass in the back of their mobile case. 

Discounts

Discounted tickets are available for students (HUF 3,450/month) but ONLY for those holding an EU university student card. Quarterly and semester passes are also available. 

Senior discounts are available for those holding a valid pensioner ID, 3,330 forints/month.

7/10

Beyond the city limits

Some buses and all HÉV suburban trains venture beyond the city limits, and travelling to and from them requires additional tickets. These can also be purchased at machines and BKK offices. Supplements are charged from 10km beyond the town, then in 5km increments. See a price list here. Tourist-friendly Szentendre, the most popular option, requires a 310-forint levy, for example. Other destinations include Gödöllő with its grand palace and gardens, and pretty Ráckeve.

8/10

Wheelchair accessibility

Wheelchair access is available on many transport lines, including: 


Buses
Over 90% of buses in Budapest have low-floor capabilities. 

Trolleybuses
Low-floor trolleybuses operate on every line, though not on every service. Check the timetable for details. 

Metro
Metro 1 is currently not accessible. 

Metro 2 has barrier-free access at the Örs vezér tere, Pillangó utca and Puskás Ferenc Stadion stations. At Örs Vezér tere, the platform design supports barrier-free boarding and disembarking. Lifts are available at the other two stations. 

Metro 3 is fully accessible after its reconstruction, featuring in-built new incline and vertical lifts. From the platform of metro stations, you can board or leave the vehicles without any level differences.

Metro 4 is accessible by lifts in all stations. 

More information, including details of parallel routes by bus or tram, should step-free access by metro not be available.

9/10

Travelling with your bicycle

Bicycles can be transported on several tram and bus lines, one trolleybus route and all HÉV suburban railway lines but you will have to buy and validate an extra single ticket. All details are given here.

10/10

Travelling with your dog

Dogs can ride with an extra ticket or monthly pass (HUF 5,250) but they cannot take up a seat and must be carried on the metro escalators. Those being carried as hand luggage in a closed container do not require an extra ticket. Guide dogs are also exempt. Dogs must be on a leash and wear a muzzle.

More information

(The original article was published in 2019, this is an updated version.)