Huge protest on the horizon: Budapest public transport can halt on the busiest day of the summer

According to a joint initiative by Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, Ferencváros (9th district) Mayor Krisztina Baranyi, and Dávid Vitézy, councillor of the Podmaniczky Movement and former mayoral candidate, the well-organised Budapest public transport system will come to a halt on the busiest day of summer as a demonstration against the Hungarian government’s “anti-Budapest policies”.

20 August can become the new 24 December in Budapest

Based on Index, the joint initiative would introduce 24 December-style public transport on 20 August, the National Day of Hungary, when the country celebrates the foundation of the state. The day is one of the busiest for public transport due to multiple celebrations, summer programmes and other events.

This change would mean that Budapesters (and tourists) could only use a minimum service in the afternoon and evening. Furthermore, Vitézy and Baranyi want Budapest to refuse paying its bills to state-owned MVM Ltd and Hungary’s oil and gas giant MOL, provided the capital’s solvency becomes endangered.

In the 2025 budget, Budapest planned to pay only HUF 39 billion (EUR 97 million) as a solidarity contribution to the Hungarian state, despite the National Economy Ministry setting a much higher amount of HUF 89 billion (EUR 222 million). The Budapest leadership said the state gave only HUF 39 billion to Budapest, which contradicts Hungary’s fundamental law that a local government should not be a net contributor to the state budget.

Billboard campaign may come, Budapest public transport halts

The Hungarian top court (Kúria) ruled that the city’s annual budget is irregular. As a result, the Hungarian State Treasury withdrew billions of forints from its account, giving it back only after the Budapest Municipal Court granted urgent protection. However, that protection lasts only until August. The city’s budget needs quick modifications, but the proposal was voted down in two committees, and today’s Municipal Assembly lacked a quorum.

Without an agreement and a government bailout, Budapest may soon become insolvent. That is why they protested on 6 June by halting public transport for 10 minutes.

Karácsony, Vitézy and Baranyi also propose a billboard campaign starting on 15 July to draw public attention to the difficult financial state of the capital.

• Budapest on the brink of financial collapse, but Budapest Pride will be held on Saturday – read more HERE

Fidesz outraged

Alexandra Szentkirályi, the group leader of Fidesz in the Municipal Assembly, said the proposal was designed “to blackmail [the government] through Budapest residents”. The mayor and the two parties “want to avoid having to admit that they have driven the capital to bankruptcy through buying a waste dump at Rakosrendezo and passing an illegitimate budget,” she added.

“The city is nearly bankrupt while its leaders drink champagne at Pride festivals in other countries and promote their own political agenda,” she said, adding that the municipality was seeking to promote a Pride march in Budapest “using public funds and to be held before the eyes of children”.

“Budapest needs to avoid bankruptcy and … to resolve increasingly bad traffic conditions … the mayor must make sure that the city stays operational rather than organising Pride,” she added in a social media post.

Read also:

• What is the closest safe haven you can get to with a tank of gasoline from Budapest in case World War III broke out? – read our article HERE
• 5 stunning rooftop bars in Budapest that will blow your mind!