Ticket vending machines at all stops of the Gödöllő and Szentendre HÉV

The installation of common ticket vending machines for both fixed rail and bus travel is continuing, according to a MÁV-VOLÁN-csoport statement.

Car sales almost double in four years

As the latest step in the programme, MÁV-VOLÁN-csoport is now installing 110 new ticket vending machines at its stations and stops, worth HUF 1.1 billion - 93 on the Volánbusz network, 11 on the HÉV and 6 on the MÁV-START.

"The development will increase the number of vending machines to 658 nationwide, serving and reinforcing the consumer trend of an increasing proportion of passengers purchasing their tickets and season tickets through self-service platforms, i.e. online channels and vending machines," the statement stressed.

According to the summary, the availability rate of the ticket vending machines already in operation is exceptionally high this year at almost 97%. Vending machine sales have also increased significantly: from 12% in 2019 to nearly one in four (22.7%) ticket buyers in 2023.

By mid-October, all 11 HÉV units will be installed

The installation of the new machines in question started on 7 October on lines H5 and H8 of the HÉV. By mid-October, all 11 HÉV locations will be equipped with the new machines: Budakalász, Pomáz, Kistarcsa hospital, Kistarcsa, Zsófialiget, Kerepes, Szilasliget, Mogyoród, Szentjakab, Gödöllő, Erzsébet park and Gödöllő, Palotakert.

With the installation of the machines, it will be possible to change trains at all stops on lines H5 and H8 in the conurbation. On the HÉV and throughout Budapest, it will also be possible to buy county and country tickets that can be used on the BKK.

Of the 110 ticket vending machines to be installed in the current phase, 70 are expected to be deployed by the end of the year, with the remaining machines to be installed in the first half of 2025 at stations Volánbusz and MÁV-START.

The system starts with a grace period

As the MÁV-VOLÁN-csoport information campaign also revealed, from 15 October onwards, passengers will have to hold a valid ticket to travel on the Szentendre and Gödöllő lines, and will have to pay a surcharge for passengers boarding without a ticket at these stations.

The communication adds that the system will be launched with a grace period, until the end of November, ticket inspectors will warn passengers at the stations concerned to buy their tickets from the machines next time, after which they can still redeem their tickets on board without paying a surcharge.