In a move that smacks of passing the buck, Budapest’s Socialist assistant mayor, Miklós Hagyó, handed over the management of public transport company BKV’s deeply unpopular plans to cut services to Mayor Gábor Demszky’s transport councillor, Gábor Dancs, on Monday, reports index.hu. Dancs, however, refused to accept the poisoned chalice and requested an immediate halt to work on the plans.
Last week, the portal wrote that BKV was planning to cut services by 10% this year, which would have meant 226 fewer buses running in the city in the second half of 2008. The company was following instructions given by the city’s leaders, but also claimed the changes would have a positive effect. The plans generated fierce criticism from all sides, and it is thought none of the mayors want to be held responsible for the problems they might cause.
If the planned changes had been approved, Budapest would have had 40 fewer public transport routes. The need for cut in services was explained by the company’s deficit, which was Ft 16 billion (€60.4 million) last year.
Critics of the plans said that cutting services would result in short-term benefits only, as fewer vehicles would transport fewer passengers, generating less income for the company. The portal cited the case of the north Hungarian city of Miskolc were a similar plan was introduced over a year ago, where passenger numbers dropped resulting in increased traffic congestion.
The preparations for cutting services and further negotiations on the plans were suspended immediately and for an undefined time, Dancs told klubradio.hu Tuesday morning. He said that after reading the plans, he decided to stop them until the exact financial consequences are known.
According to index.hu, Hagyó called a four-member crisis meeting, including Dancs, on Monday after it was revealed that the planned changes were not supported either politically or socially. The portal, based on rumors in the town hall, also writes that it was Demszky behind the halt to the work.
Well, we all know where the problems with BKV’s finances ultimately lie – political interference (e.g. free travel for pensioners that is not financed by the government and thus leaves a gaping hole in BKV’s revenues) and poor revenue collection by BKV itself.