1. Don’t try to dodge the fare. You should expect to be checked every single time you get on the metro, and many times leaving the metro as well. The tram and bus network run on the honor system, and it’s their job to find and prosecute fare dodgers, so of course they are going to adamant that you pay the fine. They are quite used to tourists trying to play confused, and they don’t buy it. So don’t try it. Buy your ticket. Validate your ticket. Don’t play dumb.

2. If the validation machine doesn’t work, which is known to happen: if it’s the metro, try and use one of the other machines…. don’t think of it as a free pass. if you can’t get it to work at all, alert the controller checking when you board. If it’s on a bus or tram, and a controller comes to check your ticket… walk them to the machine, and demonstrate that it doesn’t work. I’ve never seen a controller impose a fine after doing this, even to a non-Hungarian speaker like myself.

3. Observe the locals. There is a certain amount of institutionalized corruption that exists within the Hungarian public sector. There are always going to be controllers who think that it will be ok to give tourists a hard time. The best way to avoid this is to observe the way that the locals behave boarding the metro, and simply do what they do. Try not to look confused by the system, and try not to look too lost. I know that’s hard because the system can be confusing, and it’s easy to not know which way to go, but try and sort if out before you get to the controller so you can look the part.

4. Know what the penalties are, and know how they are enforced. Use the Budapest page on wikitravel so that you know what the controllers are legally allowed to do or not. Know that the fine is 6000 forint. If they ask for more money, politely disagree. Point to one of the many signs advertising the fine. Always be calm and polite. Do not act defensive, aggressive, or angry. THIS is what makes the controllers act upset and aggressive, NOT the fact that you a tourist. They work long hours with little pay, and they don’t take kindly to being confronted. Check your ego when dealing with the BKV. It’s absolutely not worth it.

5. Use common sense. Crowded trams and metros are prime targets for petty crime, so use normal precautions. Make sure you keep your possessions accessible. Backpacks are better held at your side when it’s crowded than worn on your back. Inside jacket pockets are a great place for your valuables. Just beware of who’s around you. The Budapest metro is no more dangerous, than any other crowded urban metro. Use common sense, and you’ll be fine. If you are a victim, report the location and time of the incident to your embassy.

Budapest is an absolutely wonderful place to visit. Just like anywhere you go, you run small risk of having a negative experience because you aren’t familiar with the system. Educate yourself, be flexible, and don’t act confrontational, and I am confident that you will have a really rewarding vacation in beautiful Hungary.

And you know what – it will not stop me recommending Budapest to anyone because travel (and I have done a lot of it in the past 30 years) involves getting ripped off. I have been ripped off in hotels, bars, restaurants, taxis in Budapest, Istanbul, London, Paris, Chicago, Fiji, Hong Kong, Rome, and many many other places.

I put it all down to experience. Certainly I would never consider a letter to an Embassy (Christ if I had a problem an embassy is the last place I would go – I know because one thing that does annoy me is the attitude of FCO reps).

My advice is to get over it! Forget it! Move on! Thousands of tourists were ripped off today around the world and thousands more will be ripped off tomorrow.

Next thing we know you’ll be complaining that the nice man playing the ball-under-three-cups game was cheating and perhaps the other two guys trying their luck may have been his accomplices.

Could you please tell me how i can get from Nepliget to this adress (Alapitvany Lyme Borreliosis – Tétényi ut.98 Budapest XI H-1119)?

Thank you very much!!

Lidia Varvari

I don’t deny that there are some people that have had bad experiences: there are always bad people in the world, and some of them happen to work within the Budapest transport system. I’m not excusing them – if they were unnecessarily rude and aggressive then the appropriate authorities should be informed.

However, making sweeping statements like ‘I will never travel in Eastern Europe again’ or comparing me to a Nazi just make me disbelieve their version of events. When people are clearly capable of such exaggeration, then why should I believe them when they say that they were totally innocent whilst these big nasty meanies took all their money?

Nicola, cant you accept that Budapest is developing a pr problem
with its ticket inspectors. I dont read about these problems in
many other cities where validation may be required.

I think there are some issues which the local transport administration
could address very easily. Firstly there is a ticket inspector on the bus
which ferries people from the airport to the train station. He inspects and then tears the passengers tickets. The airport train station was undergoing
some construction which made the whole setup extremely messy. I bought my
ticket at a booth which appeared to be a temporary measure. The ticket sellers didnt speak english but given this was one of the main ticket booths
for tourists maybe it would be advisable to employ agents there who spoke some English. I didn’t see any evidence at the booth that validation was required. Having encountered a ticket inspector on the bus why wouldn’t I assume that there would be an inspector on the train or one waiting to collect my ticket the other end. It is all very well suggesting that tourists should do their homework but I was only connecting in Budapest to take a train to Vienna. When the ticket inspectors greeted me off the airport train they were incredibly aggressive. I was carrying an unvalidated ticket and some heavy luggage with airline tags. Does that look like a fare dodger? Surely some common sense should come into play not an irate tirade on ticket validation. Ticket inspectors are generally in place to stop fare dodgers.

Nicola if you dont think this is developing into a pr problem for Budapest try googling Warren Beatty and Budapest and you will find one of his memories of the city is the fine he paid the ticket inspectors. I like Budapest but their ticket inspectors are out of control and need to be properly trained.

Me laughing at you making a mountain out of a molehill is nothing like Nazis laughing as they killed people. Get some perspective.

Anyone reading this thread – consider yourself warned that you will receive a fine if you don’t have the correct and validated ticket (which is the same in every country). If you are unsure on how to do this, speak to the hotel staff, your travel agent, read the signs or ask for advice in the tourist information kiosks. Have a lovely holiday – I thoroughly recommend the Castle District.