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The other day I was riding the Vancouver Skytrain (our subway equivalent but above ground) when my mind drifted off to thoughts about transit police. See, Vancouver’s system doesn’t have any barriers to entry. It’s run on a very Canadian honour system which clearly doesn’t work because the system is constantly not making enough money and there are so many abusers of the system who ride free.
At the entrances and exits of random Skytrain stations and some times on the train, transit police will come and check for valid tickets, but generally there aren’t that many. For some reason, even though I’ve done nothing wrong, I’m always neurotic and on the look out for them.
Perhaps it stems from my few not so pleasant encounters with similar police in foreign countries. These kinds of encounters are made so much worse due to the language barrier and in some cases complete ignorance on my part.
I definitely don’t condone what I did in the past and highly recommend you don’t do what I did back then. Regardless, they all make good, if somewhat foolish, stories.
Prague – The Naive
When I went to Prague, it was probably a stupid idea. I was so broke from moving abroad recently, I was still learning how much the Forint, the currency in Hungary, was worth and I just didn’t have much disposable income as when living in Canada. So going to Prague was a very silly idea.
But it sure is pretty!
On the last day of my short trip I only had a handful of Kroner left. Enough for a bus ticket and a meal except I needed 2 bus tickets. So on the first part of my journey, I went without one. All was good until the second to last stop when two controllers stepped on.
I produced my unvalidated bus ticket knowing full well that we were going to get fined. I had read about this online. I had heard about this from friends. We were poorly positioned or I would have just validated my ticket and be done with it, but the controller stood between me and the punch. I was doomed.
After some serious pleading on our part, we walked away 70 euros lighter each. Well, really my friend walked away 140 euros lighter. I literally had no money on me so thank goodness he did. Not the best way to end a weekend getaway.
Budapest – The Stupidity
Living in Budapest I was always careful to have a validated month pass on me at all times when taking transit. I rarely got checked on the tram, but to enter the Metro there is almost always an inspector. Because I had a student ticket, I had to make sure I had my student card as well so I kept them together in a plastic sleeve. There are particular routes that it is common to get checked – usually in tourist areas.
One day a group of us were heading to the Central Market which enters this danger zone. On the tram, my friend turned to me in sudden realization that her month pass had expired the day before. And joked that it would be bad if the controllers came then. Of course, as luck would have it, they did.
Under the right circumstances, the Budapest trams are really atmospheric!
I don’t know what I was thinking, but in a moment of sheer stupidity, after I had showed the inspector mine, I turned around and gave it to my friend. Of course that turned out as expected with the controllers calling us out on it, making us get off at the next stop (our destination anyways), and taking away my pass.
In Budapest there is a law that the transit police cannot take what belongs to you (at the time I didn’t know this). Only the police can do that. So as soon as the controller took my pass which also contained my student card, my friend started making a huge fuss, yelling at the guy, demanding the pass back. The stop was right in front of a university and in a tourist area so there were plenty of people in the area who spoke English and understood enough to take stock of the situation. Police, and transit police especially, are generally seen in an unfavorable light by most Hungarians so it wasn’t long before they started yelling at them too in our defense.
The scene of the crime. You can see the tram stop in front and that’s the Central Market in the back.
Eventually one guy was able to get the pass back from them. He told us that we were wrong to try and pass off my pass as my friend’s pass, but that they were equally as wrong for holding us back and for taking away what belonged to me. While the controllers had threatened to call the police, that guy threatened the same. I don’t know exactly how he managed to get me back my pass exactly as the exchange was in Hungarian and I barely understood how to count to 3 at that time.
This encounter was stupid through and through. I had a knee jerk reaction and wanted to come to the aid of my friend. What’s even more stupid is that my friend, had she gotten a fine, could have gotten out of it by presenting her pass for the previous month. Usually they’re lenient about it if it’s only a day out of date. Even if the controller had taken my pass, I could have just walked away from the situation. The transit police had no control over making me stay at the scene. In the end, a good Samaritan came to our aid and with a bit of luck I walked away fine free.
Belgrade – The Lucky
This encounter was through no fault of our own. My friend and I were rushing to make the start of a tour across town in time. We had originally intended to walk the distance but we dawdled too long in one location and needed to make up ground fast. We found a bus route that would get us where we needed to be.
We spent too long wandering around in this church – the Cathedral of Saint Sava.
The only problem was how were we suppose to pay for our fare? We didn’t even know how much. Luckily we found a male group of what looked like to be university students who took pity on us in our confused state. We inquired about where we could buy a bus ticket. Nowhere nearby. We asked if we could buy one on the bus. Again no. They told us to just get on and that there were rarely any inspectors.
We were okay for most of the ride. It wasn’t until we were getting close to our destination that we spotted them. Smartly dressed men in blue uniforms converging on the bus. Thankfully the bus was very crowded and we were in the middle of the bus away from the doors. We used this to our advantage and managed to squeeze ourselves among the people who had been checked by one inspector. Luck was on our side and the next stop wasn’t that far away. My friend and I made a break for it and managed to get off the bus unscathed. Needless to say my heart was pounding away in fear of getting caught. That would have resulted in a fine of 2000 Serbian Dinars (approx. $18 USD at the time of writing), which in the big scheme of things isn’t a lot, but encounters like these are no fun.
A bus stopped in front of the Parliament building in Belgrade after our daring escape.
Upon searching later, we found out the group of guys really weren’t completely lying to us. All of Belgrade uses a fancy electronic system of cards that need to be validated for each trip. Convenient if you’re a local. Confusing if you’re visiting. You are able to buy paper tickets on the bus though so I really wish we had just attempted to get a ticket from the driver.
So there you have it, three cities, three encounters with the transit police. I’m not proud of these occurrences so clearly do as I say and not as I do and make sure you buy and validate your transit ticket before you take public transit abroad!
Have you ever tried to get away with not paying for transit before while traveling? Did you have any close calls?
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You are one tough chic! I’m not sure if I would have the guts to do this in a foreign country! I guess you didn’t have much of a choice – but kudos to you.
Haha, thanks… though I’m not sure it’s a good thing 😀 Maybe not tough, more stupid!
Hi Adelina, thanks for sharing your story. It’s a good warming to others what not to do. I think a lot of us make some kind of transit faux pas at one point, whether intentionally or not. My biggest one was in Budapest. My friends and I didn’t know that if we were transferring trains we needed to buy new tickets. We were used to NY where we only have to pay for one fare whether we need a transfer or not. Anyway, we were caught by an undercover police and fined us. I don’t remember exactly how much but it was significant enough to make us very upset about it.
Ooooh yes, I think that’s a common one for people visiting Budapest because it’s so backwards from pretty much any other transit system that I’ve been to. You need a separate ticket for each form of transport you take and most tourists don’t know that and the price can quickly add up!
I’ve come close a few times with metro and bus tickets. Sometimes it is just hard to get the tickets. This post made me laugh!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it Corinne!
It’s funny, I sometimes think we are more likely to take chances abroad we wouldn’t at home. I have this mad urge to cross the road in places and at times I would be more careful in my own town when away.
I dread to think how many tourists have been caught out by London’s recent switch to not being able to pay by cash on the buses at all. Although that’s more that you will end up being stranded with no idea where the nearest ticket top up place is rather than fined.
I think you’re right. It seems less risky when you’re not at home for some reason. While I was Europe I adopted the jaywalking habit and now that I’m back in law abiding Canada, it’s hard to change habits!
This was interesting to read and good for other to know. I was stopped in Paris by a very aggressive female officer for supposedly not using a metro ticket but was then let go by a second officer who said she couldn’t prove it as I had a ticket (no clue if the ticket had already been used, but it was stamped). Also once got caught (quite rightly) using a student fare on an expensive train ride (also in France), but the nice train person just calmly had us pay the rest of the fare and didn’t give us a hard time or fine us. So I count myself lucky so far!
Two very different run ins! I’m glad the second one worked out for you and they didn’t fine you. I seem to remember something similar happening to me on the train from Budapest to a destination I can’t remember right now. We bought the wrong ticket by accident and the conductor was kind enough for us to just pay the difference.
I once took the train a couple of extra stations but my conscience got the better of me and I paid when I got off the train.
Wow! Good for you!
Budapest is a minefield for tourists. I remember riding on the trams there and it was very easy to muck up validating your ticket. The transit police seemed to be everywhere. I remember thinking it was some sort of official rort to make tourists pay fines – have a system that was easy to misunderstand then fine everyone for getting confused.
Haha, I don’t disagree! After living there for so long I’ve adopted the Hungarian cynicism. The system is particularly tricky because you need you need a separate ticket for each form of transport you take and most tourists don’t know that. Most think the one valid ticket works within a particular time frame (like in most other cities), but it doesn’t. Transit is expensive in Budapest.
It can be very confusing arriving in a new place and not understnading the system. I’m sure I’ve done the wrong thing plenty of times, but amazingly have never been caught! Last year in Budapest I think I bought a 24 hour pass for all transport, but honestly, I really don’t know if that’s what I had or not. I never had to prove it though, so I’ll never know. I think you’ve been really unlucky getting caught so many times…no I’m not condoning what you did, but let’s face it, we’ve all been there!
Oh yes, it’s so hard to know whether or not you’ve bought the right thing in a new country, especially when the language is so difficult! The Budapest is particularly tricky because you need a separate ticket for each form of transport you take and most tourists don’t know that.
You’re very unlucky! I think in Sweden I used a couple of times an invalidated ticket, but never got caught. I had heard that being foreigners we could pretend we did not know how it works and go away without a fine…which wasn’t your case, so maybe it is not such a good idea to travel without a ticket abroad. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Haha, these were only the times I got caught 😉 I think there were a few other times I risked it here and there and didn’t get caught, but I really do try to play by the rules as much as possible. It’s not worth the risk.
I’ve actually never tried to do something like this intentionally because I’m too scared of being caught and having to deal with that in a foreign country where I might not understand the law or have to pay a hefty fine. But hey, at least you didn’t get into serious trouble!
I was terrified of being caught too, but also pretty stupid. A false sense of bravery I guess… No more of that now! Or at least I would like to think so…
You’re a criminal! Not paying bus fare – we can’t be friends. Kidding!
Whoops! Haha, guilty >.<"
Ja ja! This brings back a lot of memories. When I went to Rome me and my friends bought bus or tram tickets but never validated them because we didn’t realize there was a machine inside the transport to do it. We were lucky because we never got caught. The entire process was later explained to us by a local. Kind of the same thing when I moved to Los Angeles. Bought my train ticket but didn’t know you need a new ticket before moving to another line.
Ohh, I think a lot of people don’t know they need to validate their tickets once on the train. I’ve heard of so many people who were caught that way. Good thing you guys didn’t!
Oh gosh, those stories made me so nervous! Even when I have validated train/bus tickets, I get anxious whenever inspectors come through, thinking that maybe I bought the wrong thing.
Oh gosh! Yes! I get those nerves too. It’s the worst when you screw up and you don’t even know it.
I’ve accidentally not checked in on the Dutch system 2 times that I know of – and been caught. I had the electronic card with the right amount of fare on it, but the conductors will fine you 36 euro if you don’t check in. Once the guy was unsympathetic and fined me, the second time the guy was nice and since I was only going one stop let me go without even a warning – very atypical!
Oooh how nice of the second guy to let you go. He was probably in a good mood 🙂
I live in terror of unintentionally having broken the law every time I see a security checkpoint, so I’m glad I haven’t been in any of these situations! Not that I’m glad it was you and not me . . . well, okay, I am. Sorry. 😛
I do think that a transit system really needs to make it easy for people to give them their money, though. It’s kind of unfair to make paying the fair be more complicated or confusing then just trying to evade it.
Haha, I actually freak out at any kind of security type thing too regardless if I’ve done anything wrong or not! But you’re right. Cities need to make it easier for tourists especially if they want to encourage tourism.
I cannot believe how expensive the fines are! D said a similar situation happened to him when he went to Europe with his brother (though I’m not sure of the details of the story) and they were fined like 100 bucks too! Ridiculous! So when we went, we made sure to pay for everything and validate our tickets. I bet in Prague, your friend wishes he had just paid for your 2nd bus ticket :p
It’s ridiculous the fines! But I understand it though – the high figure is almost a touristy stupidity tax. They figure you’re affluent enough to travel so might as well fine you for as much as possible for being stupid. I’m much more careful now though! No more trying to cheap out on transit. Learned my lesson for sure.
The one time in London I bought a child’s(below 16) ticket for the train the ticket inspector showed up. Luckily I happen to look young so he just looked at my ticket and then moved on. I was so relieved, the fear I had felt during that encounter ensured that I never tried that again.
Oooh lucky! I did that for a bit into my early 20s but then I started looking older than my photo on my high school student card so I had to give that up. I think we all do silly things when we’re young!
Your post brings back memories of the times when as a stupid teen I travelled all around Warsaw without a pass. I’m not really sure anymore why I did that, since it wasn’t that I didn’t have the money. Oh, the undeveloped frontal lobes of a teen. I still occasionally have nightmares about being on a bus or tram without a ticket. And nowadays I always make sure we all have valid tickets with us. Compared to the fines, the price of a ticket is just peanuts in a lot of places. What a fun post! Thanks for sharing your memories with us. And the photos are gorgeous!
Haha, I think we all did stupid things in our youth 🙂 Now I’m much more careful to make sure that I know the rules and that I follow them!
Yikes! so many run ins with controllers-I was getting off a train in Germany with my (not yet valid) student pass one day and got fined 40 euros-not a good day. 70 euros in Prague though-that’s crazy.
Yikes! That’s tough. It’s always never a fun to have an encounter with the controllers.
Before I moved to Italy I was always a super upstanding citizen. Now, I’ve become a bit more Roman in thinking and rarely validate my bus pass, lived flagrantly on an overstay (I was in the process of being legal for THREE years – and so technically you are allowed…). It’s interesting how in America I would never do anything unlawful…
When I was living abroad, the risk of overstaying on my visa was very real so I totally know what you mean! Its funny how travel seems to make otherwise terrible behaviour at home okay 🙂
Very brave to share your “What NOT to do” stories. I think folks will learn a lot from your experiences. Now, just don’t get put in jail in a foreign country!
That would be terrible! Definitely don’t want to screw up that badly to be put in jail.
Thanks so much for sharing this – I, alas, have no travel mistake stories to share but reading yours made me giggle! And made me more aware of getting around abroad.