Budapest transport authority proposes keeping car ban on Chain Bridge

The ban was introduced for a trial period after the bridge’s reconstruction, and BKK has concluded that it should be made permanent, Walter said.

Since December last year, vehicles of public transport, taxis, motorbikes and bicycles have been using the bridge, while pedestrians will be allowed to cross when the reconstruction is fully completed.

At the press conference, Samu Balogh, the cabinet chief of the mayor, noted that the final decision will be made “at the first residents’ meeting” of the city.

Providing figures of an analysis of traffic since the partial reopening of the bridge in mid-December last year, Adam Bodor, BKK’s mobility development director, noted a 54 percent drop in travel time for buses to cross the bridge from the Pest side to the Buda side during peak hours.

Bodor said current traffic rules have attracted cyclers to use the bridge more frequently, with their numbers doubling to 1,958 per day in April compared with 2019.

“As a result of this new model, the city’s carbon dioxide emissions have dropped by 29 tonnes per day,” said Bodor, adding that emissions in the area around the bridge had dropped by one tonne per day.

Responding to the proposal, Zsolt Wintermantel, the party group leader in the Budapest city assembly, called the municipality’s message about the pending state funding for the works “a political charade”. In a video posted by Fidesz on Facebook, Wintermantel cited a provision from a 2020 municipal decree signed by Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony which states that Chain Bridge must be reopened to car traffic as soon as possible.

“By upholding the ban, the mayor himself has broken the pact and, as a result, prevents the city of Budapest from receiving the 6 billion forints (EUR 16m) in state subsidy,” the ruling party said.