Bonn and Cologne public transportation Slight decrease in number of passengers without tickets

Bonn/Cologne · A year ago, fines were stiffened for those riding public transportation without a valid ticket. It hasn’t necessarily proven an effective deterrent.

“Schwarzfahren” is one of those terms that every German citizen knows, talks about and has maybe even experienced - whether deliberately or inadvertently. It translates literally into “riding black” and means riding on public transportation without a valid ticket. For anyone who is new in Germany or not familiar with the public transportation system, they should be aware that passengers who are caught riding on trams or buses without a valid ticket have to pay a fine.

That fine was in the amount of 40 euros until August 1st of 2015. After that, it went up and costs passengers 60 euros now if they are caught riding without a ticket. Since the fine was raised, the number of people caught riding “schwarz” or “black” in Bonn and Cologne has slightly decreased from 3.8 to 3.75 percent.

It can't necessarily be proved that raised fine has helped reduce the number of offenders. Cologne transportation authorities (KVB) had already registered a decrease in offenders from 2.8 to 2.3 percent in 2014. Of around 3.18 million guests who were checked for their tickets, around 75,300 did not hold a valid ticket. A spokesperson there says the number of controllers was increased to 90 and that was what made the difference; it was an effective deterrent.

In Dortmund, the increased fine didn’t contribute to a reduction in offenders. The number of people caught without valid tickets actually went up, especially on evenings and weekends. They attribute this to more stringent controls. “Does the increased fine scare passengers from riding without a ticket? This could be, but we can’t prove it with our numbers,” was the word from Dortmund.

In Bielefeld, the increased fine had no effect. The estimated number of those riding without valid tickets remained at around 3 percent. Spokesperson Claudia Ohnezorg said, “Here, there was no change compared to numbers in the previous year.”

(Orig. text: dpa)

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort