District 18's transport structure is shaped at once by the proximity of an international airport and by a characteristic network pattern: alongside the strong radial axes pointing towards the inner city, the transverse, within-district connections are weak. The result is a system that is diverse yet reaches the inner city only slowly and with transfers.

1. The airport and the radial framework

A unique feature of the district is Hungary's largest international airport, Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, which in 2025 generated 19.6 million passengers and more than 420 thousand tonnes of freight traffic. Further expansion of the airport and growth in its traffic are expected: construction of the new Terminal 3 began in 2026.

The district's road structure is fundamentally determined by the radial connections towards the inner city, while the transverse axes are weaker. Three main radial road axes cut across the district: the Gyömrői út axis (which also serves the link between the airport and the inner city), the Üllői út axis and the Nagykőrösi út axis. These connect District 18 with the inner districts and the agglomeration — Pestszentimre primarily via Nagykőrösi út, and Pestszentlőrinc via Üllői út and Gyömrői út. All three corridors are characterised by through traffic, especially the Gyömrői út axis, along which Route 4 also runs.

The cross-connections are less developed. Only one axis in the urban fabric can be identified as the district's main transverse corridor: the Méta utca axis (along the line of Méta utca, Cziffra György utca, Gilice tér, Petőfi utca, Haladás utca, Ráday Gedeon utca, Csévéző utca and Bélatelepi út). This corridor crosses all three axes running towards the inner city: Nagykőrösi út at the "quadruple boundary" of Districts 18, 19, 20 and 23, Üllői út at Szarvas csárda tér, and Gyömrői út at the "Kőhíd". To the south-west it provides a link towards Districts 20 and 23, and to the north-east towards District 17.

2. Rail and tram

Fixed-track infrastructure also runs along all three road corridors. Rail lines 100a and 142 provide a route for trains departing from Nyugati railway station. Line 142 is Budapest's only non-electrified rail line, on which currently only the S21 local train operates. On line 100a, by contrast, the S50 local train, the Z50 zonal train and long-distance trains all run — it is one of the country's busiest rail lines.

The district is directly served by five stops, plus Kispest station on the boundary of the two districts, which provides a stop for line 142. This line serves Pestszentimre via the Pestszentimre felső and Pestszentimre stations. Residents of Pestszentlőrinc can use the Pestszentlőrinc, Szemeretelep and Ferihegy stations on line 100a, although the zonal and long-distance trains stop only at Ferihegy.

Beyond the well-known railway problems — delays, infrequent and slow services, operational difficulties — the stations, by virtue of their location, do not offer an attractive alternative to the private car either. The lines (particularly 100a) run along the edges of the district, bypassing the denser areas, and several stations are not organically connected to other modes of transport. Pestszentlőrinc railway station lies some 500 metres away from the vicinity of Felsőcsatári köz, where most of the services, jobs and bus connections — as well as the site of a planned road flyover — are located. The situation is similar at Kispest station, which is roughly 400 metres from Üllői út and tram 50. Moreover, the rail tracks cross the road at grade, which forces not only private cars but also public transport, cyclists and pedestrians to stop, and also carries a traffic-safety risk.

Alongside the mainline railway, tram 50, running the length of Üllői út, enriches the fixed-track network: it creates an urban environment and a good connection along the spine of Pestszentlőrinc, but currently operates merely as a feeder service to metro line 3. In addition to regular accidents, it runs slowly because of its side-aligned layout, since on the even-numbered side of Üllői út the side streets cross the tram track. Its usage is further reduced by the fact that the higher-density areas do not lie along Üllői út, so for a significant part of the district it offers no real alternative.

3. Bus network: radial, but not all the way to the inner city

The daytime bus network — like the transport system as a whole — has a strongly radial focus. Although the district has no fixed-track element that efficiently provides a connection to the inner city, the bus network does not respond to this state of affairs either: not a single route reaches the area of the Kiskörút (Little Boulevard), and even the outer ring roads (Nagykörút, Hungária ring) are reachable without a transfer only by few residents.

According to an isochrone analysis examining five-minute walking access, the district routes with a boulevard connection mainly serve Pestszentimre and the area of Szarvas csárda tér and Felsőcsatári út. However, these services either run infrequently or, because of the dense arrangement of stops, reach the more central destinations only after a long time. And Boráros tér, touched by the most routes, does not even have a metro connection. From the entire public-transport network, then, what emerges is that District 18 — taking its peripheral position into account too — is an inadequately served area, where the inner city can in most cases be reached only slowly and with forced transfers.

4. Cycling infrastructure: island-like elements

The district's cycling infrastructure is sparse and built out in island-like fashion, although some of its elements open up important connections:

• Along the Margó Tivadar utca section a separate designated cycle path runs the whole way — in several places at the expense of pedestrian connections. It provides important access towards Üllői út and the Méta utca axis for three housing estates: the Havanna, the Szent Lőrinc (former KISZ estate) and the Gloriett estates.
• Along Route 4, a separately routed cycle path also runs between Vecsés and Ferihegy railway station; in recent years covered bicycle storage has also been built at the railway station, helping modal change.
• On Királyhágó utca, those arriving from Pestszentimre can reach Béke tér along a designated route, but here there are directional cycle lanes painted at the edge of the road, where illegally parked cars pose a safety risk.

5. What could reshape the structure

According to Mayor Szaniszló Sándor, three major transport investments could shape the district's structure in the future: the refurbishment and electrification of rail line 142, the refurbishment and expansion of line 100a towards the airport, and the refurbishment and reconfiguration of the Gyömrői út / Ferihegy expressway. The latter would be accompanied by several complementary interventions: as a continuation of Lakatos út, a road flyover would connect Erzsébet- and Bélatelep with the central area of the district, and at Szemeretelep a grade-separated road crossing would be built. Cycling infrastructure and a green strip would be established along the entire length of the expressway.