Debrecen4U
December 17, 2025
Cooperation Agreement Signed: Public Transport in Debrecen to Become More Unified, Affordable, and Accessible
The City of Debrecen and the Ministry of Construction and Transport have raised the accessibility of public transport to a new level.
Through this cooperation, county and national passes, as well as local passes, will be mutually accepted, making travel easier, cheaper, and more transparent for residents of Debrecen and Hajdú-Bihar County.
The development also includes the integration of MÁV–Volán and DKV Zrt. services, as well as the extension of free travel for children under 14. The system will take effect on December 24, 2025. In addition, the state will assume an extra burden of HUF 5 billion from the city, alongside compensation for the approximately HUF 3.4 billion in annual revenue loss undertaken by MÁV Passenger Transport Zrt.
Details of the changes were presented on December 16, 2025, by Mayor László Papp and Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár.
Transport development is a priority area of the D2030 program. In recent years, the Government of Hungary and the Municipality of Debrecen have launched a comprehensive development program to make travel simpler, cheaper, and more accessible to all. The introduction of county and national passes in 2023, and free travel for children under 14 from April 2024, significantly increased demand for public transport.
On December 16, 2025, the Ministry of Construction and Transport, the Municipality of Debrecen, MÁV Passenger Transport Zrt., and DKV Zrt. signed a cooperation agreement aimed at creating a unified, interoperable, and user-friendly public transport system. This includes establishing a so-called tariff community between service providers—Debrecen being the first city outside the capital to implement such a system.
Under the agreement, DKV Zrt. will accept full-price Hajdú-Bihar county passes and national passes for all local services—buses, trolleybuses, and trams—where monthly DKV passes are valid. Likewise, the MÁV Group will accept DKV passes for services within Debrecen—long-distance buses and trains—where county or national passes are valid.
Beyond mutual acceptance, passes will also be sold reciprocally: DKV Zrt. will be authorized to sell Hajdú-Bihar county passes, while the MÁV Group will be able to sell DKV’s monthly and electronic passes.
This means that commuters from outside the city will no longer need to purchase two passes—either a local or an intercity pass will suffice. For many commuters, this represents annual savings of more than HUF 100,000. Accessibility will also improve in areas such as Kismacs, Józsa, Kerekestelep, Epreskert, Csapókert, Szabadságtelep, Haláp, Nagycsere, and Sámsonkert.
The agreement will ease daily travel for approximately 8,800 workers in the city’s economic zones (5,000 in the Northwestern Economic Zone and 3,800 in the Southern Economic Zone), as well as around 6,000 employees in the Határ Road industrial park.
The common tariff system will bring the greatest change for children aged 6–14, students over 14, and pensioners under 65. With the discounted Hajdú-Bihar county pass, these groups will be able to use both MÁV and DKV services for just HUF 945 per month, compared to the previous HUF 5,500 monthly DKV pass.
From December 24, 2025, children aged 6–14 will be able to use local public transport free of charge with a photo ID.
The free travel scheme introduced in April 2024 for children aged 6–14 with the Junior Debrecen City Card has already boosted demand for public transport and eased the financial burden on families. Annual savings amount to HUF 66,000 for one child, HUF 132,000 for two children, and HUF 198,000 for three children.
At its meeting on December 18, 2025, the municipal assembly will decide whether to extend eligibility for the Junior Debrecen City Card from May 1, 2026 to all students in public education institutions across Hajdú-Bihar County. In addition to free transport, the card offers numerous discounts at more than 80 venues, including restaurants, cafés, events organized by Főnix Nonprofit Kft., popular entertainment venues, as well as reduced admission to the zoo and Aquaticum. This could potentially double the current number of Junior Debrecen City Card holders, which already exceeds 15,000.
During Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s visit in September 2025, an agreement was reached for the government to share responsibility for financing Debrecen’s public transport. Alongside Budapest, Debrecen will now receive the support necessary to maintain its system. As part of this, the state will assume an additional HUF 5 billion of costs from the city, in addition to compensating MÁV Passenger Transport Zrt. for its annual HUF 3.4 billion revenue loss.
The newly signed agreement will make everyday life easier for Debrecen residents: reducing costs, simplifying travel, improving accessibility, and expanding services. The goal is to create a public transport system that offers a genuine alternative to car use—comfortable, affordable, and available to all.
This will be further strengthened by the expansion of DKV Zrt.’s fleet: alongside the existing 119 modern diesel and 12 electric buses, 25 new buses will be added over the next two years.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
