The Levegő Munkacsoport proposes a HUF 500 congestion charge for Budapest. According to the organization, foreign examples prove that such a step significantly reduces traffic jams in big cities.

According to the Air Working Group, there is excess capacity in public transport, and the spread of carpooling would improve the situation even further, Infostart wrote.

In and around the capital, air pollution causes the premature death of more than three thousand people and about three million illnesses every year. According to data from the Budapest Development Center, the damage caused by traffic jams is HUF 300 billion per year - András Lukács, chairman of the Air Working Group, detailed the justification for the introduction of the road toll, according to the portal's report.

So we think that the HUF 500 collection fee would bring serious results in Budapest as well, and

sooner or later - expectedly after the elections - there will be the political will to introduce the toll

- said András Lukács, and added: public transport could handle an extra 15-20 percent of traffic, since the number of people traveling by public transport has dropped anyway due to the pandemic, and additional vehicles should be installed on one or two lines at most.

Earlier 2022plus reported that the Air Working Group wrote a letter to Mayor Gergely Karácsony and launched a petition for the introduction of the congestion charge.

The letter of the Air Working Group to Christmas, in which the mayor is asked to introduce road tolls in Budapest, was published on the website of aHang, an organization linked to George Soros and playing a key role in the conduct of the primary election. To this end, the organization also started collecting signatures.

The mayor, who pushed the capital city into traffic chaos, has already talked about the possible introduction of the congestion charge.

Paradoxically, the "car chase" experienced throughout the capital city since the reign of Christmas went into an even higher gear during the summer vacation: the lower quay of Pest was closed, new lanes were taken away from motorists, and the Chain Bridge was also closed. This resulted in congestion to such an extent that even at 10 p.m. it is difficult to move through the capital.

Source: hirado.hu

PHOTO: ATTILA POLYÁK - ORIGO