Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt. or BKV Zrt. („Budapest Transit Company“, the abbreviation BKV stands for its earlier name Budapesti Közlekedési Vállalat) is the main public transport operator in Budapest.
Road vehicle operation
City-owned BKV runs most of the vehicles of the extensive network of surface mass transportation in Budapest, with the emphasis on buses. The 1200 buses in Budapest (the majority of which are Mercedes-Benz Citaro) circulate on 231 routes. The buses are painted skyblue. Trolleybuses in red livery are operated on 15 lines. The night service is provided exclusively by buses and by the trams on Great Boulevard. The articulated bus is a hallmark of Budapest; both diesel and ETB bendy vehicles have been running since the late 1950s and still form the majority of BKV’s fleet.
The road reconstruction program of the late 2000s (affecting 50% of the city’s main roads) also modified the lanes, e.g. created separate lanes for vehicles turning left at crossings controlled by traffic lights. This reduced the travel time of the buses. Completing the eastern sector of M0 beltway around the city in 2008 significantly reduced traffic congestion, the inauguration of Metro Line 4 in 2014 further helped the situation. Competitive wages are still a serious issue as bus drivers are often lured to the trucking industry.
Rail services
BKV operates 33 city tram lines, including the Budapest Cog Railway that operates as tram line 60. The once-extensive network of tram tracks and the brown striped yellow streetcars were a characteristic of Budapest, but the network was curtailed under Communism owing to lack of funding. Line 4-6 is still the largest capacity tram-line in Europe. The tram services are now set to have a renaissance as there is no further road capacity for bus lanes in Budapest. Replacing the more than 40-year-old rolling stock started in 2006 with new 54-meter long Siemens Combino Supra giants completely replacing former carriages on the 4-6 line.
The underground railway network is less extensive, consisting of four lines. The M1 line (or Földalatti), whose colour is yellow, is a small underground tramway inaugurated in 1896, 120 years before 2016. The other three are full-sized metro lines: M2 (red), M3 (blue) and M4 (green). M2 and M4 run roughly east–west, while M3 runs mostly north–south. There is a plan for a high-speed rail link to Ferihegy BUD international airport, which is currently served by bus from the end of the M3 metro line. – See the main article Budapest Metro. In 2005 a „BEB“ monthly pass was introduced for a 10% extra cost over the regular price, which permitted the use of the MÁV national railway lines within the city area, effectively increasing the tracked service for BKV’s passengers. Since 2009, all monthly (and 15-day) passes, now called a „Budapest Pass“, are valid on the national railway and suburban bus lines within city boundaries.
Season tickets and passes
BKV uses a paper-based system of tickets and passes; as of December 2015 a monthly pass allowing one adult to travel on any BKV vehicle costs 9,500 Hungarian forint (approximately €32, US$29). Students (of any age) and children get a discount of around 65%; the elderly travel free. Passes are not transferable.
There are plans to introduce smartcard passes and tickets within a few years, in an attempt to reduce the significant fare evasion (estimated at around 10% of all passengers)