Public Transportation Centre of Kecskemét

The Public Transportation Centre of Kecskemét (Hungarian: Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ, commonly abbreviated KeKo) is a municipally owned transport-organising company based in Kecskemét, Hungary. It was established in March 2019 by the local government of Kecskemét, a city with county rights, to organise and commission local public passenger transport within the city. The company is wholly owned by the Municipality of Kecskemét and operates as a non-listed limited liability company (Kft.). KeKo does not itself operate buses; rather, it acts as the transport authority and organiser for the city's local bus network. It commissions the actual bus service from a contracted operator, manages timetables, fare and pass sales, ticket inspection, traffic control and customer service. Since 1 January 2020 the company has taken over ticket and pass sales and inspection from Volánbusz, and it has progressively absorbed other tasks previously handled by the municipality, including service ordering, traffic management and inspection. The company's creation followed an unsuccessful tender in 2018 for the provision of scheduled local transport and unsuccessful negotiations with the Dél-alföldi Közlekedési Központ (DAKK). In December 2018 the municipality set up a temporary committee to examine the future provision of local public transport, which recommended establishing a transport-organising company exclusively owned by the municipality. On 28 March 2019 the general assembly decided to create Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ Kft. and defined its tasks. In summer 2019 KeKo issued a tender for bus passenger transport for a ten-year period from 1 January 2020; five companies purchased the tender documents, but only ITK Holding submitted a valid offer by the 23 September deadline. On 12 November 2019 KeKo signed the public service contract with Inter Tan-Ker, a company belonging to the winning ITK Holding group. The new public service contract includes requirements on the average age and appearance of the vehicle fleet and on Wi-Fi provision. KeKo's activities include commissioning local public transport services, traffic control and inspection, ticket and pass sales, and customer service. It also provides travel planning and a mobile ticket application (Mobiljegy) for purchasing and using digital tickets and passes on public transport. From 22 December 2024 a unified new three-digit line numbering system has been in effect for bus routes: routes starting from or arriving at the railway station use the 100-series, routes from the Margaréta Otthon sub-centre use the 200-series, so-called peripheral routes not touching either sub-centre use the 300-series, and routes from the Széchenyi tér stop use the 400-series. The company maintains a customer service office at Kossuth tér 6-7 in Kecskemét and publishes current information, timetables and sales points on its website keko.hu.

The Public Transportation Centre of Kecskemét (Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ, KeKo) was created against the background of a failed procurement for local public transport in Kecskemét. In 2018 the municipality's tender for the provision of scheduled local transport ended unsuccessfully, and negotiations with the Dél-alföldi Közlekedési Központ (DAKK) also failed to produce an agreement. In December 2018 the municipality established a temporary committee, the Helyi Személyszállítási Közszolgáltatás Ellátását Vizsgáló Ideiglenes Bizottság, to examine the future provision of local public transport and to prepare a recommendation for the general assembly. The committee found that the most efficient method would be to create a transport-organising company exclusively owned by the municipality. On 28 March 2019 the general assembly of Kecskemét discussed the committee's proposal and adopted a resolution to establish Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ Kft. and to define its tasks. The new transport organiser moved quickly: already during the summer of 2019 it issued a tender for bus passenger transport for a ten-year period starting 1 January 2020. Five companies purchased the tender documents: the incumbent operator DAKK Zrt., ITK Holding Zrt., VT-Arriva Kft., Kunsági Szerviz Kft. and B&B Travel Kft. However, by the 23 September deadline only ITK Holding submitted a valid offer. On 12 November 2019 KeKo concluded the public service contract with Inter Tan-Ker, a company belonging to the winning ITK Holding group. The new public service contract included provisions on the average age of the vehicle fleet, its appearance and the provision of Wi-Fi. From its formation KeKo took over several tasks previously performed by the municipality, including the ordering of services, traffic control and inspection. Ticket and pass sales, as well as their inspection, were taken over from Volánbusz only on 1 January 2020, because the contract with Volán expired on 31 December 2019. The transfer of tasks did not eliminate the municipality's supervisory rights over the local service: the operation of the transport centre is supervised by the general assembly's urban management committee, and the general assembly decides on certain questions. In subsequent years KeKo continued to develop its services. It introduced a mobile ticket application (Mobiljegy) allowing passengers to purchase and use digital tickets and passes. It maintains ticket and pass sales points across Kecskemét and a customer service office, which moved to Kossuth tér 6-7 (announced in September 2025). In August 2025 the acceptance rules for local tickets and passes were expanded to suburban and regional bus services operating within the administrative boundary of Kecskemét and to rail passenger transport for 2025. From 22 December 2024 a unified new three-digit line numbering system came into effect for bus routes: the 100-series for routes starting from or arriving at the railway station, the 200-series for routes from the Margaréta Otthon sub-centre, the 300-series for peripheral routes not touching either sub-centre, and the 400-series for routes from the Széchenyi tér stop. The company also publishes current information, timetables and travel planning tools on its website keko.hu, and has had to warn the public about false information issued in its name.

• Municipality of Kecskemét sets up a temporary committee to examine the future provision of local public transport after a failed tender and unsuccessful negotiations with DAKK.

• General assembly of Kecskemét decides to establish Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ Kft. and defines its tasks.

• KeKo issues a tender for bus passenger transport for a ten-year period from 1 January 2020.

• Deadline for tender offers; only ITK Holding submits a valid offer.

• KeKo signs the public service contract with Inter Tan-Ker (ITK Holding group).

• KeKo takes over ticket and pass sales and inspection from Volánbusz; new bus service contract starts.

• Unified new three-digit line numbering system comes into effect for bus routes.

• Acceptance of local tickets and passes expanded to suburban and regional bus services within Kecskemét's administrative boundary and to rail passenger transport for 2025.

• New customer service office opens at Kossuth tér 6-7.

• Renewed timetable format announced.

Municipally owned transport organiser for Kecskemét, commissioning local bus services and managing fares, ticketing and customer service.

• Mobiljegy mobile ticket

  Digital form of tickets and passes for public transport, purchasable and usable via a mobile application.

• Ticket and pass sales points

  Numerous sales points across Kecskemét with published opening hours and addresses.

• Travel planning

  Journey planning service for local public transport.

1. 1Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ official websitekeko.hu
2. 2Kecskeméti Közlekedési Központ – Hungarian Wikipediahu.wikipedia.org
3. 3Public Transportation Centre of Kecskemét – Wikidatawikidata.org