New Method Tested in Budapest Public Transport

A ticket purchase system, which is used in other parts of the world, will first be tested in the Hungarian capital on the shuttle bus to the main airport.

Budapest Transport Center (BKK), in cooperation with Mastercard, Monet+ and K&H, will start testing a technical solution that will make using public transport even faster and easier.

A statement by BKK said that during the trial period, customers will not need anything else on the 100E airport bus line but a physical or digitalized bank card with contactless payment functionality.

With the digital solution that has never been used in Hungary but is already working well in several parts of the world, passengers can use the 100E airport shuttle without pre-registration, using their credit card, smartphone or smartwatch. The transaction will be validated immediately, and the customer's credit card is used to prove travel entitlement later, in case of a possible check.

Passengers will not need to buy paper tickets in advance or use the BudapestGO app.

BKK has selected its future partners for testing the new method through a procurement procedure. On  October 27, 2022, BKK signed a contract with the Mastercard-Monet+ consortium to build and operate the system and with K&H to provide card acceptance services. Mikroelektronika will supply the validation equipment for the project.

The pilot phase is expected to start in early 2023, initially on the 100E airport bus line. If the experience is positive, BKK will extend the test to other routes.