Budapest Guide
Getting around
Tickets and passes
Standard single tickets valid for the metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, the Cogwheel Railway and suburban HÉV lines (up to the edge of the city) cost 270Ft per journey and are sold at metro stations, newspaper kiosks and tobacconists. Metro tickets also come in a variety of other types, depending on whether you are changing trains and how many stops you want to go: a metro section ticket (220Ft) takes you three stops on the same line; a metro transfer ticket (420Ft) is valid for as many stops as you like with one line change. Tickets bought on board buses and trolleybuses (helyszini vonaljegy) cost 350Ft.
The standard single ticket is not valid on night buses: you have to buy a 350Ft helyszini vonaljegy separately – on board or from a ticket machine – unless you have a day or weekly pass. Books of ten standard single tickets (tíz-darabos gyüjtőjegy – 2350Ft) are also available – these are still valid if torn out of the book but cannot be used on night services.
Tickets must be validated when you use them. On the metro and HÉV you punch them in the machines at station entrances (remember to validate a new ticket if you change lines, unless you have a metro transfer ticket); on trams, buses and trolleybuses, you punch the tickets on board in the small red or orange machines.
Day passes (napijegy) cost 1550Ft and are valid for unlimited travel from midnight to midnight on the metro, buses, trams, trolleybuses, the Cogwheel Railway and suburban HÉV lines; three-day passes cost 3400Ft and weekly passes 4000Ft. Season tickets cost 5300Ft for two weeks and 8250Ft for a month, and are available from metro stations, but you'll need a passport photo for the accompanying photocard; there are photo booths inside the entrance of Deák tér and Moszkva tér stations.
Children up to the age of 6 travel free on all public transport. EU citizens over the age of 65 also travel free, but must show proof of age if challenged by inspectors, who may not understand if you simply tell them that you don't need a ticket.
Bear in mind that there are active pickpocket battalions on the metro (especially the yellow line) and the city buses and trams. Gangs distract their victims by pushing them or blocking their way, and empty their pockets or bags at the same time. Also beware of bogus ticket inspectors "working" the transport system and demanding money from passengers. Genuine inspectors wear blue armbands and usually work in twos or threes.