How do you use the bus in Budapest in 2024?

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Bus in Budapest

You have to purchase a ticket,BKK pass or Budapest card to use the Budapest Bus. Whether you need a ticket,BKK pass or Budapest card depends upon on your choice.

These tickets and passes can also be used for Budapest trams,trolleys and underground metros.

The city buses in Budapest can be classified into 3 types.

  1. Front door boarding buses (Red in color),
  2. Normal boarding buses (you can enter from any door)
  3. Airport Shuttle Bus 100E bus.

Each of these buses have their own way to use.Although ticket validation system in all buses is same,i.e. you have to insert a new ticket into the validation machine inside the bus.

Whereas BKK pass or Budapest Card do not require any validation in the bus,as their validation time is already printed on them and visitors have to make sure that they are using these only during the mentioned time on BKK pass or Budapest Card.

For tourists to ride on Budapest buses,best option is to buy a BKK pass(1 day,3 day or a weekly pass) or a Budapest pass(24 hour,48 hour,72 hours,…) as it allows unlimited bus journey involving Budapest buses. Additionally, you do not need to validate such pass in the Bus.

How to use 100E Bus

You can use 100E bus in Budapest in the following way.

  1. Buy one ticket for Airport Shuttle from the BKK ticket vending machine.
  2. When the bus arrives to the station, stand in line behind all passengers on the front door.
  3. After entering the front door of 100E, put the ticket into the machine, and once it punches a stamp on it, you will hear a sound and small green light on the machine will blink.
  4. Then, you have to show the stamped ticket to the driver, who will nod his head to signal that you can go and sit.
  5. Make sure to keep the ticket with you for the whole journey, as ticket inspectors may come from nowhere and ask for your ticket.

Many tourists get fined just because they did not validated their tickets in the bus 100E.
You cannot use BKK passes,or Budapest Card to ride 100E bus as they are not accepted for the Budapest airport shuttle. Another reason tourists get fined is that they assume that buying Budapest Card or BKK passes is free to be used in 100E,but this is not the case.

How to use front boarding Budapest Bus

Aside from 100E,there are two sorts of public transport buses in Budapest. One of them are front boarding buses. These are normally red in color,whereas sometimes blue as well,but they have written on their front screen, Boarding from the front.

You can use front boarding bus as following.

  1. Buy a single ticket,BKK pass,or a Budapest card (up to your choice).
  2. When the bus arrives to the station, stand in line behind all passengers on the front door.
  3. After entering the front door of front boarding bus, put the ticket into the machine, and once it punches a stamp on it, you will hear a sound and small green light on the machine will blink.If you have a BKK pass or Budapest Card, there is no need to validate it.
  4. Then, you have to show the stamped ticket to the driver, who will nod his head to signal that you can go and sit.In case of a BKK pass or Budapest card, you just need to show it to the driver.
  5. Make sure to keep the ticket,BKK pass or Budapest Card with you for the whole journey, as ticket inspectors may come from nowhere and ask for your ticket.

Many tourists get fined in front boarding Budapest buses as sometimes they are entering these buses from the middle or back door,when the other passengers were going out. In such case, they may enter the bus,but the driver will keep on playing announcement that please validate your ticket.

Such tourists should go to the driver and validate their ticket in front of the driver, or show their BKK pass or Budapest card.

How to use Blue Budapest Bus

For using Budapest buses,other than 100E and front end boarding buses, you can enter from any door of the bus.

  1. Buy a single ticket,BKK pass,or a Budapest card (up to your choice).
  2. When the bus arrives to the station, you can use any door to enter the bus.
  3. After entering the bus, put the ticket into any machine (right in front of each door), and once it punches a stamp on it, you will hear a sound and small green light on the machine will blink.If you have a BKK pass or Budapest Card, there is no need to validate it.
  4. In such buses, there is no need to show the ticket,BKK pass or Budapest pass to the driver.
  5. Make sure to keep the ticket,BKK pass or Budapest Card with you for the whole journey, as ticket inspectors may come from nowhere and ask for your ticket.

No matter what kind of bus you are using, make sure to check the signs in each bus. There are priority seats in all Budapest buses for pregnant women as well as old people.

Additionally, in standing areas of each bus, there are signs on the ground mentioning that either a stroller or a wheelchair person can stand here. If there is no stroller or a wheelchair,you can stand in that place,but when someone enters with stroller or wheelchair, you must move to another place.

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