Budapest Public Transport Ultimate Guide
Buongiorno or Shalom — as they say in Erzsébetváros, Budapest’s 7th district!
A couple of months ago, after a long hiatus, I found myself back in Budapest. I’m rushing to share the latest updates to the public transit system. I’ll break down how to get around, which modes of transport to use, how to pay for your fare, and how to save a bit of cash.
Types of Public Transport
Budapest has a metro, trams, buses, and a funicular.
The funicular near Buda Castle is strictly for tourists — no sane Budan, let alone a Pesther, is going to shell out 4000 HUF for a 3 – minute ride! And you shouldn’t either. It’s a 10 – minute walk down, and if you’re heading up to Fisherman’s Bastion, just take the bus.
Metro: 4 lines and over 50 stations. The one you need to remember is Deák Ferenc tér — it’s the heart of the city, the terminus for the airport bus, and the junction where three lines meet: 1 (yellow), 2 (red), and 3 (blue). You can find the current metro map (pdf) on the Budapest Transit Department website. If you’re staying in the center, you don’t even really need to know any line other than the yellow one.
Trams — I prefer looking at them from a distance. Trolleybuses only exist on the left bank of the Danube, in Pest.
Buses are the most common way to get around. If I actually need to go somewhere, they’re my go – to. That, or a taxi. Bolt is quite affordable in Budapest, and if there are two or three of you, it might actually end up being cheaper than public transit.
How to plan your route
Seriously, just finally learn how to use Google Maps and stop asking everyone how to get to your hotel in Yprtcknvaros. Google will tell you everything — it’ll map out the path to the nearest stop, tell you which line to take, when the bus is coming, and exactly how many stops are left.
Public Transport Tickets
The ticket system is unified. In the old days, you had to hunt down those ticket machines at metro stations. They didn’t exist at bus or tram stops, and you couldn’t always buy one from the driver (plus you needed cash forints). Basically, it was a total nightmare. And since I’m not the type to fare – dodge, I’d end up walking through rain, snow, and wind. But now, we have BudapestGO.
Tickets can should be bought exclusively through the BudapestGO app (App Store, Google Play), where you can also plan your route (though Google is still more convenient). All that’s left is to figure out which tickets exist, how to validate them, and how to save a little money on your fare.
Oh, right! Paper tickets are still sold in machines at metro stations too. The rates are exactly the same. To each their own.
Which Tickets are Available
Single ticket (450 HUF) — A one – off ticket for a single trip on any type of public transport. It’s valid for 80 minutes, but that doesn’t mean you can make transfers during that time. It’s for one ride only. In the metro, transfers are allowed as long as you’re traveling in one direction.
30 – minute ticket (530 HUF) — Now, this one allows you to make transfers for 30 minutes from the moment of validation.
90 – minute ticket (750 HUF) — Accordingly, you can ride around for 90 minutes.
Block of 10 tickets (4000 HUF) — These are single tickets with a bulk discount.
There are also travel passes: 24 – hour (2500 HUF) — valid for 24 hours from validation; 24 – hour group (5000 HUF) — 24 hours for a group of up to 5 people; 72 – hour (5500 HUF) — you could practically live in the metro for three days.
In my opinion, the block of 10 tickets is the best value for a 2 – 3 day trip. I mean, you aren’t planning to see Budapest strictly from the window of a bus, are you?
How to Validate (Punch Your Ticket)
Simply buying a ticket isn’t enough. You have to validate it. For a paper ticket, you stick it into the mechanical box on the handrails of the bus, trolleybus, or tram — or into the special pillars at the metro entrance.
With the digital ones, the “song and dance” begins. Personally, I like the Prague Pid Lítačka system — you can buy and validate a ticket right in the app, either immediately after purchase or by tapping a button (though with a 2 – minute delay so people don’t just do it when they see a ticket inspector).
In BudapestGO, you have to go to the “My tickets” section, tap “Validate” on your Block of 10 tickets, and scan a special QR code found at the entrance to the metro or on surface transport. And yes, you’ll need internet for this.
If it works, a random colorful image will pop up on your phone. If there are two of you traveling, close the image and repeat the process. Once you’re done with all these maneuvers, you’ll have two validated e – tickets, and the number of tickets in your Block will decrease. If you get checked, just tap the inspector icon in the top right corner.
For 30 and 90 – minute tickets, you have to scan the QR code every single time you transfer.
QR Codes
The stickers are located by the entrance of the bus / trolleybus / tram near the doors, next to the driver, and inside the cabin. In the metro, you’ll find yellow validator pillars for paper tickets with QR code stickers on them.
Instead of a QR code, if your phone supports NFC, you can use that method for validation. Just unlock your phone and hold it up to the corresponding sticker — the blue one with the phone and circles. For me, it only worked once out of four attempts, so I gave up on it. The metro driver isn’t going to wait around for you. If you’ve bought several different types of tickets, you’ll be prompted to choose which one to validate after scanning.
The yellow box — your typical “puncher” for paper tickets — and the QR / NFC stickers at the metro entrance.
There are also terminals installed at metro stations for paying the fare by card. All you have to do is enter the number of passengers and tap your card. The ticket will cost 450 HUF. By the way, you can buy a ticket from the driver on the bus for 600 HUF in cash.
How to pay for the airport bus
I’ve already detailed all the ways to get to and from Budapest airport. The most convenient is the 100E — an express bus that makes only three stops in the center.
A ticket costs 2200 HUF one way. I already explained how to buy one from the machine in that same post, but now you can get it through the app (don’t forget to validate) or by card when boarding the bus. Just a reminder: when boarding at the airport or at the Deák tér terminus, there’s a special person standing there who very friendlily checks tickets and helps with payment.
Here is the 100E, plus what the QR codes look like and where to find them. Behind the closed door, you can also see the yellow terminal for card payments.
