Fare dodging remains a problem on Budapest public transport

Fare dodgers using Budapest's subway system, the metro, are still causing considerable losses to transport company BKV, though their number has dropped since stricter ticket inspection was introduced in March 2007.

According to napi.hu, there are currently 139 security guards and 423 ticket inspectors working in the metro system. Each day, 4 million passengers travel on the trains, of which fare dodgers account for 20% to 30%.

Ticket inspectors issue fines to between 1,500 and 1,700 passengers daily, but only a small fraction of them, 120 to 180 people pay the fine on the spot. Between Ft 5 million and Ft 10 million is paid in penalties daily, however, the BKV has accumulated Ft 30 billion in claims during the past five years.

The number of passengers who avoid a higher penalty by presenting a valid pass at the company's offices after being fined for traveling without a ticket is 3,300 each month. The company receives 7,300 complaints about its ticket inspectors, but investigations suggested that 92% of these are filed by fare dodgers themselves, and the majority of the complaints are unfounded.

Employing a new ticket inspector costs the BKV roughly Ft 70,000, which includes the training course, the wage of the teachers and the uniform. Despite the low public opinion of BKV ticket inspectors, turnover is only 2% to 3% a year among them. One likely reason for this is that the job requirements do not specify age, education or knowledge of a foreign language.

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