Hungary has lifted its fuel price cap amid fears of prolonged shortages following a surge in demand and low supplies that triggered long queues at filling stations.

However, despite lower prices in their own country, some Hungarian drivers are still opting to cross the border into Slovakia to fill their tanks – and it's not about money.

Since Hungary capped its fuel prices, Gabor Lajos has been crossing the border to fill up – not because petrol and diesel prices are lower than in Hungary, but because there are no shortages or restrictions on how much fuel he can buy.

"I've been filling up here once a week – I can pump 30 to 35 liters, no questions asked," Lajos tells CGTN Europe. "The fuel price cap was bad for Hungary and we are now seeing the results."

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Hungary first capped prices more than a year ago. The government said at the time the measure was necessary to shield consumers from some of the effects of inflation, now at a two-decade high of 22.5 percent.

But a recent rise in fuel demand and low supplies have led to shortages around the country, forcing the government to scrap the cap.

"We would have been better off without the price caps on fuel or food," says Lajos. "I'm a store owner, so I know every day I lose money on all the essential food items under the cap."

Brink of bankrutptcy

Lazlo Gepsz, the president of Hungary's Independent Fuel Station Association, represents around 1000 independent filling stations in Hungary. For more than a year, his group has been asking the government to lift the cap, saying it has pushed many pumping stations to the brink of bankruptcy.

"The fuel cap was not economically sustainable – we argued over and over for more than a year with the government over it," says Gepsz. "I believe the price control was not a sound economic decision, but a political one, and it held us hostage to the government's will. We are the victims of this failed policy."

During the cap, fuel consumption in Hungary rose by 25 percent compared to 2022. 

On top of that, maintenance issues at an oil refinery belonging to MOL, one of Hungary's leading oil and gas companies, as well as the move from foreign companies to cut fuel shipments to Hungary created a perfect storm: long lines at filling stations and fuel shortages.

Now that the government has abolished the cap, a liter of petrol costs 640 forints ($1.64), and diesel 699 ($1.99), up from the prior set price of 480 forints ($1.22) per litre. 

For those driving along the main highway that connects Hungary with Slovakia a day after the fuel cap was lifted, the sight of empty filling stations remains. There is still a gas shortage. 

And according to the Hungary's Independent Fuel Associations, the only thing that appears to have changed is the price drivers will pay for fuel – if they can get it at all.