When I moved here, I initially was a little apprehensive about giving up some of my independence in not having a car to jump in and go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
The second I looked at a map of Budapest's public transportation (Map), that quickly went away. Quite simply, you can get anywhere in the city by tram or bus in usually under 30 minutes. There are stops wherever you want to go (or at least within a couple blocks of where you want to go), and once you become comfortable with the names of the stops and streets, or landmarks close by, it's fairly easy to navigate around town.
It's amazing at how much further ahead of most U.S. cities that Europe is with public transit, and in a city of two million here in Budapest, it sure must quell a number of traffic issues during their rush hour.
Another form of getting around town is by bicycle, and thousands of folks here use that mode of transportation to get around. Bike lanes are marked on sidewalks and along streets in the busier, downtown area, and paths are all over the more rural parts of the city, especially on the Buda side (the left side of Danube River) and in Margaret Island, a place boasting a number of parks where locals go to exercise, sunbathe and relax.
Taxis are also all over, though one of the scams here is that if you hail one off the street, they'll charge you up to five times the normal amount for your fare. So make sure if you ever visit here that you call for a cab or have someone call one for you. They'll be there within 5-10 minutes, and the fares are pretty cheap (usually $5-10). Strap on your chin strap though, most take the wheel like aspiring Formula 1 drivers, and I swear I've seen my life flash before my eye's a few times when doing 90 kilometers/hour through downtown. One cabbie even sped up and laid on his horn the other night when some pedestrians "jaywalked" across the street. I asked him if he'd ever been to jail. He just laughed.
Some stories from the tram, you ask? Well, the first week, I was a debacle. I was late to practices, meetings, a couple outings with new friends because I hopped on the wrong tram, took the right tram in the wrong direction or simply blew past my stop. The most confusing part is that many names of the stops aren't the names of the streets they intersect with. Confusing, but it was just a matter of carrying a map and getting familiar with everything (Trams 18, 41 and 47 basically get me anywhere I need to go around my district, and 4 and 6 get me downtown). Now? I'm a veteran, and can even sit and read a book or throw on my iPod, close my eye's for a few minutes and count the number of stops before I need to get off.
Last week, I was the subject of everyone's entertainment when my leg, which I had propped up on the seat in front of me while I was reading, fell asleep. When I got up to get off, I nearly collapsed and had to hop down the steps to the stop. A few minutes later, I was back to normal, was able to again stand on two feet, pulled my hat down over my eyes and shamefully walked off.
I've seen people puking, sleeping, dancing, and arguing on the phone. Almost saw a guy get hit trying to run in front of an oncoming tram, and swear that cars fly by and are less than six inches from the trains, and yet nobody so much as flinches. It's fun to people watch, especially the drunks late at night and guys (usually unsuccessfully) hitting on women.
All told, I don't miss my Honda at all. My Uncle Dave does not have a driver's license and has always seemed content without one. I've stepped into his world while over here, and no complaints so far.