Budapest Approves Plan to Tackle Extreme Anti-Social Behavior on Public Transport

In his campaign for mayor of Budapest, Dávid Vitézy (currently the member of the Municipal Assembly) emphasized the creation of BKK Security (BKK: Centre for Budapest Transport) as a key element of his program. This initiative aims to enhance public

By: hungarytoday.hu

Oct 14 2024
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Budapest Approves Plan to Tack

In his campaign for mayor of Budapest, Dávid Vitézy (currently the member of the Municipal Assembly) emphasized the creation of BKK Security (BKK: Centre for Budapest Transport) as a key element of his program. This initiative aims to enhance public safety and improve the quality of the city’s public transportation system.

Vitézy’s proposal responds to a series of complaints by BKK passengers in recent years. Many have reported aggressive or anti-social behavior, passengers wearing extremely unhygienic clothing, aggressive panhandling, or individuals acting in ways that violate basic social norms. These are only some of the most common issues occurring on a daily basis. Several posts and threads on the online forum, Reddit have also discussed the current situation of public transport in Budapest.

One forum member from Budapest wrote – “Yesterday, I took the tram from Újbuda to Savoya Park. As soon as I got on, I heard someone coughing badly. Inside, I saw a homeless person sitting on one seat, leaning on another, coughing and vomiting alternately, and incoherently swearing. His bag was full of empty bottles, so he was probably not sick, just intoxicated. Besides, the stench of months without bathing filled the entire tram.”

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Another user posted a similar experience – “Apart from the fact that they are probably traveling without a ticket, the bigger issue is that ticket/pass holders have to sit on dirty, muddy seats. And the smell around such people is unbearable.”

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To address these concerns and improve passenger safety, BKK Security was approved by the Municipal Assembly with unanimous support.

The department will be established within the Metropolitan Security Directorate, with a staff of at least 200 officers, tasked with reinforcing the Public Area Surveillance unit, according to the Telex news portal. A “rapid-response, 24-hour, 365-day on-call patrol service” will be operational from January 1 next year.

Security officers will be dispatched via the BKK and BKV (BKV: Budapest Transit Company) systems, and an emergency call button will be added to the BKK mobile app for passengers to report incidents. Additionally, drivers can continue to report issues and request assistance.

BKK Security officers will have the authority to remove disruptive passengers from public transport, prevent them from boarding future services, or issue fines. However, they will not have full police powers. In cases where criminal offenses are suspected, BKK Security will notify the police department, with whom they will collaborate.

An unresolved issue is how to deal with passengers whose hygiene disturb others. In such cases, BKK Security will work closely with Budapest’s homeless and social care system. Deputy Mayor Ambrus Kiss emphasized:

It is very important not to stigmatize this measure or turn it into a persecution of the homeless. This cannot be the outcome, as it would not solve the problem.”

During the campaign, Dávid Vitézy’s proposal drew criticism from the progressive mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, who labeled it as anti-homeless. However, when voting on BKK Security, Mayor Karácsony introduced technical amendments to Mr. Vitézy’s original plan. These amendments, which primarily focused on collaboration with the social care system, were accepted by the majority of the assembly, and the decision to create BKK Security was passed with the Mayor’s support.

Budapest Public Transportation Passengers Disturbed by Critical Conditions