Hungary's fuel price cap has sparked a rise in "fuel tourism," with drivers from neighboring countries crossing the border to fill up for less.
The measure was introduced on November 15 to help citizens cope with rising prices amid 6.5 percent inflation.
At Esztergom, a Hungarian town close to the border with Slovakia, drivers are crossing the Danube to buy cheaper fuel in Hungary, where the cost per liter has been capped at 480 forints, or $1.50.
At a fuel station in Esztergom, one Slovakian driver said: "I save at least 5 to 6 euros [$5.60 to $6.80] on a full tank. That's pretty good. Since I drive quite a lot, I save the price of two full tanks a year."
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While Slovakian car drivers save most, up to $6.8 for a full tank, all around Hungary's border there are fuel tourists driving in. Eszter Bujdos is the managing director of Hungary's best-known fuel price comparison website, holtankoljak.hu. Her conversations with fuel station owners make clear that drivers from Serbia are also eager to save, in their case up to 40 forints, or 12 cents per liter.
Bujdos said: "In the southern part of Hungary, we can say from Serbia, many many people are coming, the price difference can be 30 or 40 forints per liter, they can easily cross the border and come to fuel.”
That price cut of 30 or 40 forints means a saving of $6 for Serbians filling a 50-liter car tank. The discount for lorry drivers is bigger. More trucks are now refueling inside Hungary's border. A typical truck tank takes 1,000 liters of fuel, so the price cap saves up to $135, per tank.
But there's a high cost for air quality, both at the border and more widely.
Andras Lukacs, president of Hungary's Clean Air Action Group, said: "If there is more fuel consumption, it means there will be more air pollution. This is especially true for trucks - for example, if a big, heavy truck fills its tank in Hungary, then they go all over Europe, say to Portugal, without refilling their tanks. They go with this cheap fuel and pollute the air, without paying for this cost."
When the fuel price cap was first announced, it was set to last for three months. Since then, Hungary's government has said it may be extended.