Bruce schrieb:


Not just in Britain, then!

Of course.


It is one of the things that never fails to amaze visitors to Germany:
how come there are no barriers at tube stations? "It could never work
back home," proclaim tourists from less law-abiding nations, notably
Britain. "No one would bother paying."

Similar commentary is issued about unarmed police officers by visitors of
Britain, even if the crime rate at home is similar to Britain's.

But back to the story: Of course they would, if monthly tickets are cheap
and easily available, and the ticket check frequency is high enough.



About 3.5% of journeys on German public transport are not paid for,
according to statistics from the Association of German Transport
Operators (VDV).

Which means: 70 - 75% of the trips are on monthly or similar tickets
anyway, and of the remaining riders, about 15% ride without a ticket.

I would expect a much lower percentage of monthly or similar tickets in
Britain, and thus, a very similar share of fare dodgers.

The main difference is, that our adventurous youngsters are typically
holding a school/education ticket anyway. But transport company managers
or journalists are mentally uncapable of spotting that quite decisive
difference.



In less compliant Berlin, it is 6%.

If the BVG doesn't get its TVMs fixed, I'll be among the 6%. I might ride
with a ticket, normally, but I'm as impatient as other Berliners. While
the user interface of the new units is rather well done, the coin/bill
acceptance units are junk.

As well, the percentage /had to/ rise, following the introduction of
"boarding at the front only" accompanied by the pullback of ticket
inspectors. If the buses are for free, many people might try in the
connecting trains, too, especially if most of their travel is "bus".



That might not
sound a lot to the cynical visitor, but it's too much for the VDV,
which is demanding harsher punishments for fare dodgers: an increase
in on-the-spot fines from €40 to €60 (£50), and €120 for repeat
offenders.

The association believes the current fine doesn't deter schwarzfahrer
("black riders") who take their chances without a ticket.

If those "Schlipse" ("ties") could be bothered to read a book and
comprehend the results of science, they might be interested in the
results of criminology: Main deterrence isn't the punishment, but the
chance to get caught.



The €40 fine
equates to 17 journeys in Berlin, where it is sometimes possible to go
for weeks, if not months, without being checked, depending on which
line is used.

And now we are at the core of the problem. They have cutted into the
costs of ticket inspections, and it didn't work.

What a surprise.

Ticket inspectors are a lot cheaper than a barrier system, but as soon as
you cut them away, too, it doesn't work. That's easily understood by
anybody but beancounters.



The VDV is also outraged at an internet "service" launched in one
German city to help fare dodgers evade ticket inspectors' sporadic
checks. The MVV Blitzer (can't find working web link - KB)

That's because Google tries to outsmart you: Change your preferences to
"German", and you get there as the top hits. I have similar problems
when searching for English terms, created by the attempts of Google to
know my wishes better than me.



The VDV claims fare dodging costs transport companies up to €250m a
year. A further €100m is spent on ticket inspectors.

Spend €200m on ticket inspectors, bring down the rate to 2%. Less than
2% is uneconomic.


Although Germany is generally thought of as an obedient nation,

So Germany has a much lower crime rate than Britain? Or does it just
happen, that the writer couldn't be bothered to check facts?



Hans-Joachim



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