Public Transport Alert (I): Grannies to be Grouchier Than Ever

Believe it or not, the curse of the néni is about to get much worse. If it wasn't bad enough that the seats on the new Combino trams are too high for their little legs, and that sometimes passengers have to push buses along themselves (Fig. 1), pensioners will soon be forced to experience the horror of paying to use public transport. Under the current system, oldies only need to show their wrinkled faces to travel free, but the government is claiming that because of a lack of transparency of their movements, and the cost of transporting their miserable asses, a "symbolic" fee will be introduced. This amounts to a charge of 10% of the standard, heavily subsidized, rate, or Ft 700 (€2.53) for a monthly BKV pass, or at least two years worth of ceaseless whining.