A city with no public transport?

[neilz]

News

Could Budapest really lose its public transport very very soon?

 

[artyman]

I suspect a lot of the UK already has no public transport, most bus routes are run by private companies, First, Stagecoach

 

[neilz]

Budapest's transport is all state-owned under the name BKV - their metro, their London Overground equivalent, buses, trams, trolleybuses, all state owned and all to stop if BKV runs out of cash

 

[wemorgan]

Zakopane in Poland has quite poor public transport. But many people saw this as a business opportunity, by buying minibuses and offering an ad hoc shuttle service to the surrounding national park. OK, they all speed to try to add as many runs in a day as possible, but people do get to where they want to be for not too much money, The same could happen in Budapest.

 

[neilz]

Good thinking, I have noticed how all the private-owned taxi companies have more and more MPVs and are starting to get minibuses too (while lowering fares). Maybe that's going to take over?

 

[softbulletin]

Not to much different to the more remote parts of the UK - I grew up in a town called Bewdley, a small settlement on the outskirts of Kidderminster. There is no bus returning from Kidderminster to bewdley after 8pm!! - I have friends who have to get taxis back from their jobs at Sainsburys because of it - thats a cool 12 pound out of there 48 earned that day! Good money ey....? ..... joke.

 

[markjay]

This is more likely to be a political issue. BKV going bust simply means that its suppliers (and possibly its employees) don't get paid, but there is no reason why someone else should not pick up the running public transport network on a more successful commercial basis.

In fact, national infrastructure investment is actually must sought after by many in the East. If this does not happen, it is for political reasons, e.g. the Hungarians wanting to keep BKV going for their own aims, or not wanting to see fare prices go up, or simply because a local oligarch is already lined-up to snap it at the right moment... perhaps Richard Branson should put in a free takeover offer.

 

[neilz]

Malev's now gone, but an extra tax on drivers who own cars in Budapest is to fund BKV apparently! Some high up said it will never happen, but others are making arrangements to set the plan in motion

 

[stevieb15]

I really dont know how this would work now but I'm sure someone who knows will correct me if necessary.
Back in the late 70s/early 80s there was either a national bus strike or just a local one in Bristol.
For those who know the area I drove from Stapleton down the M32 into the centre of Bristol round past Avon House to my office car park....chaos we were told was bound to occur, either total gridlock or none of us would get to work.
So we all set off early on the first day, result? We all got in early, we all left early and got home early. Did anyone fail to get into work? Well yes they did, the usual suspects who didn't get in when it snowed or rained but the rest found a way.
Within days we were all leaving later for work and working later, the reason was the buses caused most of the problem, no buses no jams.
Of course things may have changed.