Do passengers over 65 years travel free with public transportation in Budapest?

Posted on by Budapest Guide

A leaflet about Budapest says that passengers aged 65 and older may use public transportation (such as subway, trams and buses) for free. Is this true? My only ID to prove my age is my passport. Is that enough?

First of all thank you for the question. This is a very popular question asked by many, so we will try to answer your question giving all necessary information. It is true that public transportation is free for some people above 65 years, but not for all. Transportation is free for those aged 65+ fitting into one of the following groups:

  • Citizens of Hungary or other EU, EEA Member States or Switzerland aged 65+
  • Foreign citizens aged 65+ who get pension from the Hungarian Pension Fund
  • Foreign citizens with Hungarian nationality aged 65+ and their relatives aged 65+ upon Act LXII/2001
  • Foreign citizens aged 65+ on the basis of a special international agreement
  • Refugees 65+

    It is the first category listed which is interesting for most of the people visiting our page. This means that if you are a member of a nation within the European Union or a member of the European Economic Area like Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you are entitled to free usage of the public transportation in Budapest if you are above the age of 65.

    This means that you can simply enjoy the usage of buses, metros and trams in Budapest at no cost, but it is very important that you always bring your personal ID with you to be able to identify yourself as a person above 65 years from a EU, an EEA country or from Switzerland.

    I hope this answer helps you out. Feel free to come with comments, feedback or other stuff using the comment field on this page.

    • 2 thoughts on “Do passengers over 65 years travel free with public transportation in Budapest?”

    1. Geraldo Siqueira says:

      Good morning Sirs. I need some information from you. Me and my wife are living in Portugal and we have ID and Passport issue in Portugal and we are Portuguese Nationalities so we are 63 and 71 years old. For our convenience do we need to obtain a free Budapest travel card for metro, tram and buses during three days stay in Budapest? And we still get any free entrance to any museum and free bath?

      Hope to hear you soon. Thanks for everything.

      Geraldo Siqueira

      Reply
      • Budapest Guide says:

        Hello,
        I wouldn’t recommend the Budapest Pass, no matter what. As one of your is 71 years old, public transport is free, and you only pay the full entrance fee at museums and at the baths you decide to visit. And for the one who is 63 years old, it is better just to buy a public transportation card for the days you are here and pay a full entrance fee at museums… the Budapest Pass / Budapest Card is only worth the money if you plan on visiting museums from morning till evening.

        Reply

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