Local tram and bus lines in Budapest are making the international news, as the Hungarian capital’s public transport company BKV has become the subject of discussions between the government and IMF and EU officials. It’s not clear whether the pressure on BKV originates from the government or its potential creditors. There are suggestions that the multinational bodies are insisting that subisidies from the national budget have no business keeping the city’s transport company afloat. Either way, however, the company will have to restructure its operations so that emergency financial injections to keep it running are no longer necessary. In 2010 and 2011, the state had to come up with HUF 140bn in order to keep the trains and buses running.
The government is making it clear that while a functioning public transport system is in the country’s interest, the city will have to be responsible for its funding from now on. However, the dispute over how to solve the city-owned company’s difficulties places the bankruptcy of the Hungarian airline Malev into fresh relief.
