BKV.hu

Protection of the environment

The global challenge of the 21st century is to find appropriate solutions for the most urgent problems of the pollution of the environment.

It is our mutual interest to live in a more beautiful, cleaner and healthier environment. One of the basic principles of BKV Zrt. is to ensure cheap, convenient and reasonable public transport services in a way which is the least harmful for the environment.  The metros, trolleybuses, trams, HÉV suburban trains are transport modes which do not impair the environment and health of the people living or working here.

BKV Zrt. has a determinant role in the transport of the central region of Hungary that is why it can have a great effect in changing the environmental quality of Budapest. The great responsibility of creating an attractive alternative for personal transport falls on the public transport operator.  Its tools are as follows:
  • introduction of the new book of parameters – which, by linking,  lengthening and harmonizing  several lines –  makes it possible for the passengers to save time, and simultaneously for the company to operate with a more effective resource allocation more economical management;
  • priority for public transport, i.e. the priority bus lanes programme, which  enables our customers to reach their destinations in a shorter time and with less emission of polluting gases. In the recent years we have created altogether 16 km new bus lanes on 25 different locations.
  • procurement of modern and environment protecting vehicles, out of which the most important ones are the Combino tramcars running along the Grand Boulevard and serving 500  thousand customers daily.

In Budapest 60 per cent of the journeys is carried out by public transport, while the remaining 40 per cent is done by private cars and other transport modes, respectively. At the same time the private cars are responsible for the 60 per cent of the air pollution originating from transport, the trucks for the 34 per cent and public transport vehicles for only 6 per cent!

Unfortunately, it is true for the whole Europe that private transport becomes dominant in urban areas.  Hungary is not an exception from this:  in the last decade the number of private cars has risen by 22 per cent in the capital city, causing an annual rise of 20 or 30 thousand in the total number of private cars and another 80 km of congested road. The growing number of people choosing the private car deteriorates even the quality of life.

Our company serves 42.3 per cent of our passengers by buses, 25.8 per cent by trams, 21.7 per cent by metro and the remaining 10.2 per cent is served by the other transport modes. If we can change this share in a way that the rail-bound transport mode enjoys priority in the future, the environment will have to bear a smaller burden.
Of course, bus transport cannot be totally replaced anywhere in the world. However, by harmonization of the time-tables, tailoring to the real needs of a big city we can save money, energy and time. This is social responsibility which projects the vision of a better quality of life for Budapest.