A system of validation doesn’t necessitate thousands of inspectors, but does require a greater element of trust. Effectively, riding with an invalidated ticket is no different to going completely ticket-less tickets are only “spent” after being validated, and could otherwise be used over and over again. Passengers in Berlin can still be prosecuted for travelling while in the possession of a ticket that they haven’t yet validated, because there’s no way of telling how long they’ve been doing so. This system, with its lack of physical barrier between the passenger and the train, is a vestige of a time before ticket barriers, when inspectors were the only way of ensuring passengers had paid for their travel. Day tickets are stamped when travellers take their first journey of the day, and are valid thereafter. Passengers can purchase as many tickets as they want, whenever they want, and simply stamp one every time they take a ride on the public transport network – be this by bus, tram, U-Bahn or S-Bahn. So why employ such a system?Īlthough disconcerting at first, relying on ticket validation does make rather a lot of sense. And I should know, because I’ve paid that very price. Anybody who forgets to do so is met with the less friendly reminder that the penalty fare for such an act is 60 euros. Instead, all passengers are kindly reminded that before boarding their train, they should “validate” their travel with a stamp from one of the nearby machines. In Berlin, tourists from London, Paris, Madrid, or even Moscow may be surprised to find that upon leaving Schönefeld Airport, there are no ticket barriers greeting them at the nearby S-Bahn stop.
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