Budapest transport company to introduce SMS tickets

Passengers will be able to pay fares on Budapest transport company BKV's vehicles by sending a text message (SMS) from their mobile phones starting in the spring of 2008, the company has announced.

According to hirtv.hu, an SMS "ticket" will cost Ft 500 (€1.90) and be valid for 60 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes on weekends for all services including night buses.

After sending the required text message, passengers will have to wait two to three minutes for a confirmation message, after which they can board the vehicles. Ticket inspectors will have to be shown this message, the validity of which can be checked by sending another message if in doubt.

Paying by mobile phones for parking was introduced in Budapest in the summer of 2006. Paying public transport fares by mobile phones had proven effective in several European countries including the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, where up to 40% of the total fare revenues are payed by mobile phones. Meanwhile, the Czech transportation company plans to introduce the system in Prague at the beginning of 2008.

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