Don't forget to validate your ticket on trams/metros and buses!!
 

Know before you go:

Make sure that you know what you need to do before you alight any public transport in another country.

Many times you need to have bought a ticket at a kiosk, and then VALIDATE it before getting on, or sometimes once inside there is a machine to validate.

Fines are hefty worldwide for skipping this validation step.

Transport personnel will not accept "Sorry, we didn't know" as a tourist's excuse.

It is rare for a "metro" that this would be an issue (since you need to validate the ticket just to get inside in order to make the turnstyle move). However, I seem to recall one city where you could actually just walk onto the platform without validation, although I might be thinking of a tram -- that was Vienna. I think there are no turnstyles there to get onto the Ubahn.

It is more of an issue for trams and buses where there isn't that step required (to punch it in order to get a gate to let you in). A lot of people doing this are doing it intentionally, though, I think, not forgetting, although perhaps I'm just skeptical. I think you can assume that you need a ticket to get onto any public transport and that if it is single tickets, there has to be some way for them to be marked used so they can't be reused.

For example, I live in Wash DC which has a metro and one tourist asked me once outside the metro station if they needed to buy a ticket to use it. well, yes, it isn't free, I just was surprised by that question. Of course they couldn't get inside without one here.

A good reminder Lincasanova!

When the Amsterdam Metro still worked on strippenkaarten you could quite easily get on without stamping your card at the machine. You may well have been stopped on exiting and had your card checked but even that was unlikely at some stations.

People still use the trains without a valid ticket or forget to validate a dateless ticket before travelling.

The new OV chipkaart has put an end to it on the metro and will eventually do so too on the train - now people are more likely to forget to check out, so costing them more money, than they are to travel with an invalid or no ticket.

I don't think the Lyon and Marseille metros have turnstiles. Nor does Los Angeles, for that matter.

Now THIS is useful advice.

There are a number of systems where one must validate through a turnstyle to reach the platform, but some don't. Then there are some systems that are a mixed system.

For instance, here in Melbourne (showing it's not just good advice for Europe travel, but world-wide), the city center stations require ticket entry when entering or leaving the platforms area. But just a few stops further out, there's only a validation machine, but one can easily walk past it and board. And that would result in a fine if caught, either by an transportation officer or when trying to exit at a turnstyled station. Same on any of the many trams here - the validation machine is somewhere in the middle of the tram, not in view of the driver. It's on the passenger to validate the ticket upon boarding. The ticket itself could have been bought at any time and many can be re-used several times with a fresh validation.

Best to read up a bit in advance on how the system works where you're going.

Just so people understand what "validate" means . . .

Many tickets for a bus, tram, or train--especially for transit within a city or town--can be purchased and used at any time over a period of months. People will buy a bunch and carry them around, so they have a ticket just in case they need to take a bus, tram, or train.

Therefore, at the time you actually use a ticket, you must "validate" it by stamping it in a machine just before you board or once you get onboard (depending how the particular system works). The machine will stamp the date and time on your ticket. After you validate the ticket, verify that you can actually see the stamped date. This serves three purposes:

- It proves you have paid for this particular ride.
- It prevents you from reusing the ticket for another ride.
- It sets the time for duration of ride if the ticket is time-sensitive. (Some tickets are good for a certain amount of time--60 minutes, 90 minutes, whatever--so the rider can transfer from one mode of transport to another to complete the trip.)

Some systems have switched from stamped validation to a computerized system, where you wave your ticket near a device that registers the validation. Learn the options for the systems where you will be traveling!

Also, while "watch the locals" is usually a useful piece of advice, it may not be as useful when managing public transport. Often locals will have access (or reason) to have a different means of boarding than a timed ticket. For instance, in our system, some tickets can be validated several times. For instance, I have a ticket right now that looks like a regular ticket, but was a discounted multi-use weekend ticket. I can use it five times, with five stamps on it, before it runs out. It a visitor was to see it, it would look a bit strange and they'd wonder why I got on the tram without validating - because earlier in the day I connected from a train and I only have to validate once for it to be effective all day. You should instead validate your ticket, even if I don't.

As has been said, read ahead of time. Also - remember to read the ACTUAL ticket. Often it says right on it what to do, which can vary, depending on what you bought.

I read everything I could find as to whether we were supposed to validate our Venice Connected three day transit passes. I never did find an answer. So we stuck them in the machine a few times and prayed to St Mark.

In Rome holders of weekly or monthly passes do not need to punch the ticket on each bus/tram ride or go through the subway turnstiles that validate single-ride tickets. These passes are validated on first use only. So when you look around you may see very few passengers getting validations; the locals may all have monthly passes.

You also need to do this on some trains eg. in Italy

No excuse for Vienna:

Tickets bought in advance must be punched in a blue ticket cancelling machine in the tram or bus or at the barrier before you board the underground train.

http://www.wienerlinien.at/wl/ep/pro...geTypeId/10220

No excuse for Munich:

Validation
Single Tickets, Stripe Tickets and Day Tickets have to be validated prior to starting your journey.

These tickets only become valid for use by being validated.

http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/home/t...ung/index.html

No excuse for Budapest :-)

3. Use of the tickets and passes

Tickets, passes and other travel certificates must be handed over on controller's request.

It has to be validated before starting your trip on metro lines at the entrance gates when entering the metro stations and on other vehicles it has to be validated immediately after boarding by the validating machines. You cannot transfer your validated tickets to other people, and have to keep them till the end of your journey.

http://www.bkv.hu/en/travel_conditio..._of_travelling

SNCF is one that I am familiar with...'composter' at the yellow machine.

If you're no sure, it's simple matter to ask when buying the ticket. If you purchased it ahead of time, just go an info counter and ask them before using the ticket. Or you could just take the "when in doubt, validate" approach.

>It is rare for a "metro" that this would be an issue (since you need to validate the ticket just to get inside in order to make the turnstyle move).<

Not true at all. Berlin, Budapest and Prague to name just three allow platform access without going through turnstyles.

Same in Danish train stations (have never used the metro there). If you buy the klippekort it has to be validated in a machine at the station and you may have to validate more than 1 ticket if you are passing through several zones.

Actually, somewhere we have traveled the machine is many meters in a wide open area before even accessing the platforms and during rush hour there were so many people we didn't even see it.. and most locals must have had a monthly pass so I didn't see any tourist validating.. but we finally found it.

Not sure where that was...hmmm. Must try to recall that.. now it is bugging me.

The best basic rule of thumb is that *something* has to indicate when you started using a ticket.

1) Buy ticket. Even assuming travel in countries without your native language on the ticket, if you don't see a date stamped then...
2) Put it through the turnstyle on the way to the platform. But if you made it to the platform and never saw a turnstyle, then...
3) Find the validation machine and put the ticket in to get your stamp. But if you can't find the machine...
4) Find a system employee and ask.

Covers pretty much all the city transport systems I've ever encountered

That'dd

I fully agree with Clifton's advice but would add a rule zero: ask at the hotel :-)

This is really relevant if there are different pricing zones. From my experience Germany seems to be especially bad in that regard and even as a native I normally have real difficulties to understand the pricing systems in strange cities.