National travel pass in Hungary – What is that?

The national travel pass in Hungary (often Országos Bérlet, officialy Országbérlet in hungarian) is a new type of ticket introduced by the Hungarian government on May 1st, 2023. With this ticket, you can travel unlimitedly throughout the entire country on intercity buses and trains alike.

Why is important?

The national travel pass is important because it provides a simple and affordable way to travel on mostly on MÁV-START (the passenger train transport in Hungary) , Volánbusz (the nationwide bus transport, included to/from great to/from some little towns covered), MÁV-HÉV (operating in Budapest and suburban of Budapest, a few towns of Pest county (vármegye)) or GYSEV (in German shortly: Raaberbahn; an Hungarian and Austrian operating railway transport company in Hungary and Austria at operaing mostly in the Györ-Moson-Sopron, Vas and Zala county routes) and a few private bus compaines in Hungary. With this ticket, you can save thousands or even tens of thousands of forints (around thirty euros) on your monthly travel expenses if you regularly commute between your home and workplace or school. It also makes long-distance travel for family visits or excursions easier to plan and more affordable, and of course, the for non-Hungarians is affordable too this type of ticket pass, if you want to save to the transporting fees when staying long times in Hungary (e.g: you are working and/or just visiting). And itself the easily method of ticket using, you don’t have always buying a more tickets every travelling.

This Hungary’s ticketing system is similar to Germany’s Deutschlandticket with almost same pricing in euros and almost same transport method possibles.

How much does it?

The full-price of Országos Bérlet (valid: 30 days) costs the 18900 HUF (for all domestic and foreigner passengers too).

Have discounts for type of this ticket pass?

For mostly all (domestic (for all full-time students, include: elementary, 8th and 12th grade, vocational, college and university students) and foreigner (mostly studying at the college, universities in Hungary) with hungarian issued student ID) full-time students is 1890 HUF. (valid: 30 days too)

The former discount is also valid for eligible (mostly domestic) disabled people, as it is for full-time students.

Have (more) discounts for mostly domestic passengers (e.g: other 90% discount, MÁV (or MÁV Start Klub) cards, for members of National Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, etc.) for example: for the additional cost services. If you want to ask about that, you must have searching or get from MÁV website and via contacts of.

Previously prices not inluded the value added services e.g: bicycle storage in train during the travelling and (will valid from July 2023) Intercity (secondary class, non-premium) whereas must have buy the seat ticket separately with your nationwide (országos) and county (vármegye) ticket pass.

Convert you prices via XE.COM currency converter and use Revolut for low-fee (or free from fees) currency exchanging, get multicurrency account and debit card

I can move the pass issuing for another person?

No. These are name tags that contain your personal data, e.g. identity card data, passport, possibly even student ID and maybe other data.

You cannot change any previously added data.

I (would) have county tier pass…

You cannot combine with another county tier pass, the county tier ticket pass just for valid to declared to the county (vármegye), e.g: if you have valid pass to Csongrád-Csanád, you can use this inside of county, outside of county is invalid and you cannot use this way to another separately for other (neighbour and non-neighbour too) county valid ticket pass e.g: Bács-Kiskun. You must have buy and use the nationwide ticket pass. (if you don’t want to pay another additional price (consider this a fine, often: “surcharge” (“pótdíj”) ) on the train, please before the travelling pay attention to the corrently buying ticket pass). Important: The price of the two county tier ticket passes is the same as the price of the national pass, so if you use a national pass, you get a better deal with one national pass than with the former tiered pass.

Where can I get this pass?

The railway stations (ticket offices and ticket vending machines) – at the MÁV and GYSEV

MÁV application (for Android (from Huawei AppGalery) and iOS) – from anywhere, easily way with English interface, must have data connection.

Some Volánbusz bus stations with ticket offices

BKK Zrt’s customers center, ticket offices and the vending machines in mostly Budapest, the BBK just sell the nationwide ticket pass and Pest county ticket pass.

You must have give the issuing date and the waiting this validation time. So if you want, you can setting the issuing starting date in-day or any more days before travelling with this travelling in nationwide (with this you can controlling your costs) on moment of ticket pass buying.

If you want, please support me via thIs (fiat- and cryptocurrency), LiberaPay, or Wishtender (e.g: to buy national pass and pay internet bill)

I am working in Hungary, Can I do claim the reimbursement from my employer?

Yes.

If you have a job *(preferably declared/regulated/legally) in Hungary, your employer must pay at least, most of the price of the national pass.

“…39/2010. according to a government decree (39/2010. kormányrendelet), the price of the county or national pass can be reimbursed in the same way as traditional passes and tickets as reimbursement for commuting to work.

We recommend that you negotiate with your employer, as it is quite possible that the new passes mean savings for the company as well!”

You must have give the your employer’s data (company name, address, tax number, etc.) in the part of giving the account information at the ticket buying operation. Please ask your emloyees and/or the MÁV contact about that.

Your employer’s maybe “the your direct employer” or your work agency (mostly included the iskolaszövetkezet), where operating the Hungary, enter the data of one of them when purchasing the pass.

*(unfortunately, maybe not if you are an employee in the black or maybe grey – between they are (dependent of situation) unregulated employment – you need to know the circulars, I can’t help you and give you legal advice)

Where is the national pass valid?

At the 96% of the MÁV’s railway passanger transport is valid of the national ticket pass, included the MÁV-HÉV and will be in some Intercity (second class) railways from July 2023 (not all of, please read more this list) too, Intermediate pins on regular, fast and other second-class trains.

All GYSEV (Raaberbahn) railways *(in Hungary only) – if have, mostly “regular” passaging.

*(“On the Fertővidéki Local Interest Railway line, the Győr-Moson-Sopron county pass and the national pass can only be used on the Hungarian section of the line. Therefore, in the case of trips whose starting point or destination is Pamhagen (Pomogy) on the Austrian side, you can only travel to Győr-Moson-Sopron county with a valid county pass or national pass if you purchase a “Fertőszéplak-Fertőd – Pamhagen-Pomogy” connection ticket or a pass.”)

All Volánbusz (exclude: only-local in-cities transport) transporting opportunities (long and short (“between two or more towns”) distance transport).

Valid from July 2023: the economical (secondary class) Intercity railway passanger trails with valid additional cost of seat ticket (“helyjegy”) – strictly except of validation: the premium class (first class) parts of railways. The county (vármegye) ticket pass isn’t being valid for any Intercity trailers. (Important: It is worth buying the seat ticket before day of traveling on the IC train, because the price on the day is extra costly)

The InterCity trains indicated in the timetable can typically be used on the sections below without a seat ticket, only with a county or national pass.

Győr – Szombathely
Győr – Sopron
Győr – Szentgotthárd
Siófok – Keszthely (only in designated cars)
Siófok – Nagykanizsa (only in designated cars)
Székesfehérvár – Nagykanizsa (only in designated cars)
Balatonalmádi – Tapolca (with the exception of places announced separately in the schedule)
Gyékényes – Siófok (only in designated cars)
Balatonakarattya – Zánka-Erzsébettábor
Balatonaliga – Fonyód (only in designated cars)
Balatonaliga-Siófok (only in designated cars)
Balatonaliga-Balatonszentgyörgy (only in designated cars)
Dombóvár – Pécs
Budapest-Keleti – Hatvan
Miskolc-Tiszai – Szerencs
Miskolc-Tiszai – Sátoraljaújhely
Miskolc-Tiszai – Hidasnémeti
Debrecen – Hajdúszoboszló
Debrecen – Fehérgyarmat
Biharkeresztes – Szolnok
Nyírábrány – Püspökladány
Biharkeresztes – Püspökladány
Biharkeresztes – Szolnok
Budapest – Szob

Don’t valid to outside of Hungary. (“In the case of international travel, the national pass and county pass cannot even be used to cover domestic travel, i.e. on the Hungarian section. In such cases, an international ticket or season ticket is required for the entire trip, which cannot be “included” in any way with the county or national season ticket.” – for example: if you go to Bratislava (n Slovakia) from Budapest and/or Szob/Vác OR go to Oradea (in Romania) from Debrecen, you must have get and use separately international ticket to/from destination, if you travelling between from Szeged and Budapest, will valid the national travel pass)

Don’t valid for the local transport of all in-cities (e.g: all of Budapest’s BKV/BKK, Debrecen’s DKV and Szeged’s local transport included) – except the Zalaegerszeg, you can – here this only one city of validating – use the local transporting opportunities with county and nationwide ticketing pass.

In MÁV-HÉV: “You can travel on the following sections of the HÉV lines with a Pest county pass or a national ticket pass: H5: Between Szentendre and Békásmegyer,
H6: Between Ráckeve and Millenniumtelep,
H8: Between Gödöllő and Ilonatelep,
H9: Between Csömör and Szabadságtelep.
It is important to know that you can still travel on the sections of the above HÉV lines within Budapest and on the H7 HÉV only with BKK tickets and passes!”

You can use the TramTrain (Szeged-Algyő-Hódmezővásárhely and vice versa) transport (whereas meanwhile the use the certain part of the Szeged’s tramway (from the railway station to Vásárhelyi Pál street – is this used by the MÁV, whereas the Szeged’s transport company owned part, after: the TramTrain itself takes a completely different route, which is used only by MÁV, through which, after the short last stop in Szeged, it continues in the direction of Hódmezővásárhely), separately working this route (harmonized with local transport schedule and any kind of – countinously: don’t useable with county and nationwide and county tiered ticket pass in the local transport)).

The light railway:” on the Balatonfenyves Light Railway operated by MÁV-START, i.e. trains running between Balatonfenyves and Somogyszentpál and Csisztafürdő, it will be possible to travel with a Somogy county pass and a national pass.” Except: “Gyermekvasút” (railway for children) and the all light railway.

In around of Balaton lake:

Trains on the southern shore of Lake Balaton

Trains on the northern shore of Lake Balaton

Detailis: https://www-orszagberlet-hu.translate.goog/balaton_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=nui

The non-Volánbusz, mostly private passaging transfer companies with these routes:

• G-BUSLINE Autóbusz-közlekedési Kft. (Budapest – Zalaegerszeg – Lenti);
• Trans-Tour ’90 Közlekedési Kft. (Budapest – Tiszaújváros – Polgár – Tiszavasvári – Vásárosnamény – Tákos – Csaroda – Beregsurány);
• Trans-Vonal Közlekedési Kft. (Nyíregyháza – Balsa);
• Weekendbus Zrt. (Csömör – Budapest; Csömör – Kistarcsa – Nagytarcsa- Pécel), but not valid on night route 419.

If you want, please support me via thIs (fiat- and cryptocurrency), LiberaPay, or Wishtender (e.g: to buy national pass and pay internet bill)

Where can I plan my railway and bus transport route using the nationwide travelling pass?

You can easily via MÁV’s ELVIRA and this the newest (with ticket buying feature – not have possible get county and nationwide travel pass) MÁV website (that’s reccomended)

With Google Maps

How can I store the physically nationwide travelling pass?

Do not storage the plastic case and do not laminate the physically, as this may render it illegible and therefore invalid. May storage (if have space for ticket) to the wallet, but be careful.

“The reason is simple: the passes are printed on so-called thermal paper (or audit roll), which must be protected from heat, moisture and certain chemical agents, such as those in soft plastic materials.

Unfortunately, the public service providers cannot replace the passports which become illegible and have to be replaced by new ones.

If you can, buy your county or country season ticket via the MÁV app. It’s quick and convenient, and the digital ticket is also resistant to creases!”

If you want to details of this nationwide traveling pass, you can read the about that in https://www.orszagberlet.hu website (Hungarian only).

Please leave me your ask and anything below in comment section.

I wrote that blog article in 8 hours almost all-night. I am creating content in The VideoStone (mostly hungarian, but have multi language subtiles, as soon as posible i would create English speaking) and i am tired and i have some unliterarable issues. So please donate me fiat and crypto and via LiberaPay, or Wishtender and/or share this article in social media, if you have some issues of this article, please leave me a comment (it is this Disqus comment section). Thank you 🙂

More links by me (social media, channels, collections, donate, contacts, refferal links and et cetera)