Budapest could become insolvent in months if the government does not take immediate steps to salvage the capital’s debt-ridden public transport company BKV or if it does not get more room to solve the situation itself, János Atkári, chief financial adviser of Budapest mayor István Tarlós, warned last week.
Insolvency could torpedo the capital’s new metro project and force it to repay HUF 180 billion in EU funds, which will lead to instant financial collapse, not only of Budapest but also the entire country, Atkári said.
BKV’s crunch will not end until it gets an extra HUF 40-50 billion a year to pay for its running orders, Atkári added. [index.hu]
Maybe they could have invested a little bit of money in a ticketing system, before “investing” in the Metro 4 project?
Agree with Bérlet, another case of putting the cart before the horse !….. maybe in the end there will be some reality in the pun…
It’s crazy, everyone knows that the system is abused. Those of us that are honest commuters are getting sick and tired of the open abuse and even boasting of those who can pay but know they can get away without paying.
Most of these politicians don’t use public transport. They are clueless.
@Berlet. Did you miss the point in the article that said that if Metro 4 isn’t completed, the country has to repay 180B HUF? Perhaps they need to finish M4 if only to avoid the penalty.
Fare dodging though could be addressed by giving controllers more power to enforce the law; and by empowering the average citizen to help.