TRANSPORT PLANNING IN HUNGARY - A CASE-STUDY OF PECS

This review emerged from an opportunity provided in 1988 to the author to study the process of Hungarian transport planning in general, and that of the major regional city of Pécs in particular. It begins by outlining the difficulties of obtaining detailed information on transport policy-making and planning in Eastern Europe, and then goes on to analyse the situation in Hungary as a whole since the early 1960s. The specific situation in Pécs is then discussed in relation to national transport planning, with detailed case studies drawn from problems on the local and regional road network, the growth in car ownership and usage, the development of local and inter-regional rail services, the provision of adequate local bus services, and the growth of local taxi services. The problems stemming from State intervention and planning control in local transport are emphasized, as are the increasingly difficult issues of the Hungarian economy in constraining public investment. The paper concludes with a discussion of the relationship of the problems of Pécs with those of urban areas elsewhere in Europe, and emphasizes the particular difficulties faced by East European planners in the future. © 1990 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.