Before 2024,You could not use a debit or credit card on a Budapest Bus to buy the ticket,because there was no option available for card payment.However, there are very limited bus routes where payment by card is introduced on test basis. As a visitor coming to Budapest, the best advice is to buy bus tickets from ticket machines or from the driver.
Budapest bus tickets can be purchased only with cash, as bus drivers do not have any card machines.Also there is no ticket machine inside any Budapest Bus. This applies to all the blue and red buses which are operational during the day time and continue running until the night buses start operating.
If you are on a non-planned journey in Budapest,in such case you may need to buy bus ticket on the go. Always make sure that you have cash in HUF and that too in Coins,as drivers in Budapest buses rarely have change.
Whenever you enter any Budapest Bus,either Red or Blue, without any ticket or transport pass, you have to purchase a bus ticket and validate it. Many visitors buy bus tickets in Budapest but do not validate it in the bus,and get fined if caught by the ticket checkers.
Although we do believe that you can live without cash in Budapest, but for buying tickets from Budapest buses, its not applicable. But this is something that can be avoided by purchasing tickets from Ticket Machines,BudapestGo App and BKK ticket offices,which all accept Debit and credit cards.
In fact, Budapest Buses are the only options in the whole city where card option is not acceptable. The best is to buy bus tickets from a Ticket Vending Machines,which are installed at major tourist bus stations, and validate it when you enter the bus.
For Budapest night buses, there are ticket checkers on the middle and the backdoor of the buses. In Budapest night buses, you can purchase ticket from the ticket checkers instead of the driver.
Whenever you enter the Budapest night bus,go towards the ticket checker and ask for the Jegy (Yejj) and buy ticket in cash from them. Make sure to validate the ticket in night bus too.
