Transit officials are authorized to escort violators to the cash machine; no one is forcibly "marched." I read more information on fare violations earlier this morning; it is possible to post the fee within three days, but the penalty is substantially higher and requires proof of identification so authorities have the fare violators on record.

And since you asked about the penalty for graffiti, that depends on the age of the offender. There are civil and criminal charges levied for those ages 7 and older, including education, youth detention and the requirement to reimburse for all costs over a 30 year span. I read nothing about the salt mines.

So these tin cops are police, judge, and jury? That is the justice system?

You want to pay for a court hearing on top of the fine? And stick around for it?

When I first moved to the US I got stopped for not stopping at a stop sign (suburban neighborhood, no traffic anywhere in sight, I was used to Yield signs, but fair cop). The police officer required me to follow her car down town to pay the fine right then, as I was driving on a foreign license. See any difference?

Yes, but inNYC You can;t cheat the system. The turnstile prevents you getting to the trains without using your Metrocard and the bus driver will turn you away if you don;t have the fare.

In europe many of the systems don't have these barriers just to make the system faster - and less expensive for everyone. For anyone to take advantage of this is clearly ignoring the system and cheating rather than paying a fare. Wy should tourist not have to pay - increasing the costs for locals.

Visiting a country without learning the basic rules/regs is fine as long as you are willing to accept the consequences. If you don;t want to pay fines then learn an follow the rules. I have taken public transit all over europe and never found a system that required one to be einstein to understand and follow

Although a ticket machine in a garage in Germany nearly got us once. Then a local came along and we decided to watch him - but he couldn't get it to work either - we had to get a bellman from the hotel to let us put of the garage (and report to management that it wasn't working). But the point is we didn't just drive around the barrier - we found a way to do it right even though it took us 20 minutes - because we are not CHEATS.

Calm down, IMDonehere. The transit officers are following the RULES. We have experienced similar with a radar-gun speeding violation: we were invited to pay €30 on the spot (we weren't too much over the limit), or submit an appreciable amount later via post (thankfully we had cash on us). DH and I were on return from a day trip, gabbing about this, that, or the other, and missed the speed change. We could have used our status to decline the ticket (a la, "innocent tourist") but we paid up.

Like all rules, common sense needs to be applied.

>>So these tin cops are police, judge, and jury? That is the justice system?<<

The same applies in London.

Not having a valid ticket is an "absolute" administrative offence: even if it's a mistake, that's the penalty for making a mistake. If they had evidence that you were doing it deliberately then it would be a court matter with a much more substantial fine.

BTW, a thousand years ago I paid a fine on the spot in Perugia. I made a turn following a truck and a cop pulled us both over. I gave him the money on the spot and I am sure it was all officially reported.

Ah well there's always someone breaking the rules

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35954224

I also like RM flpab 44 and London answers.

As for being marched to an atm :
Same in France when we were fined speeding. I always carry one paper heck just in that case
Same in Belgium : pay on spot or more later. Germany allowed me to pay with a debit card.

But I suppose we should make an exception for tourists ! Since they bring money they own it I guess.

As for being pulled over on a U.S. Highway and nearly gunned down when I left my car to greet the policeman ... I didn't like it much and learned fast. Now I don't move one inch.

Other countries other rules other habits.
Same forum posters same posts same answers same fights.

In some countries you even get fined for spitting on the street. Not sure it happens in China ;-)

I think some of the frustration was the amount involved esp. since they did show tickets. I would assume the machines in Vienna (knowing the efficiency of this people group) have a date on the tickets as to when they were issued, most chits issued by machines have a plethora of info embedded. That would prevent long term use (like for months!)of tickets. But 100E is pretty steep for what is often an innocent mistake. So maybe make the offenders re-purchase the ticket or 20E. I'd think the Austrians would want to be more tourist friendly rather than re-enforcing stereotypes that what they like best is RULES.

I find this thread outright insulting. And another example of aggressive American chauvinism.

European tourists in the USA have landed in jail for much lesser mistakes (like making an innocent joke at an airport security check). But these great and mighty Americans shall be spared from all punishment because they are so ignorant that you cannot expect that they know the rules!

Whereever you are as a tourist, you have to obey the local rules. If you violate them, whether intentionally or not, you have to accept the consequences. And whereever you are in this world, you are obliged to inform yourself about these rules. And this is easy enough in Vienna. They have these rules even in English. In New York, you do not find public transit rules in German. Dear American Fodorites, you may think about it!

suec1, tickets printed at the U-Bahn (subway) machines do not have a date stamp; that happens when one walks past the clearly marked validation machines and submits their tickets for the date/time imprint. Time and date stamps are only issued when tickets are purchased aboard a tram or bus (not the case with the OP).

Rules are not an Austrian exclusive stereotype, and the Austrians don't hate tourists. Compared to other cities across Central and Eastern Europe, Vienna's public transit is relatively straightforward to understand.

Every public transportation system, be it in Europe or the U.S. or wherever, have RULES. It is unfortunate that those traveling to foreign places do not bother to learn those rules.

Nooooo. Not again a U.S. Vs Europe !

You can do better 1959 and some here have as a rule to pit us against each other's.

Riese katastrof !!! (If it is German I'll drink a Koelsh).

I think a jail term may be more appropriate at a warning everyone will hear about. Money means nothing to many Americans, who of course are ALL filthy rich, so a jail cell for a few days may be a better deterrent?

They could be put to work cleaning up metro stations with a note in several languages on their back as to why they are doing that - another great deterrent.

That'll teach 'em.

<Other countries other rules other habits.
Same forum posters same posts same answers same fights. >

This is much too sane a response. Let's all have a Kolsch. It's delicious.

(Shall I mention that many American craft breweries are now doing Kolsch as well as the

...Germans?) Nah!

I do appreciate the warning. I think 100 Euro fine is far too excessive - for anyone - regardless if they are a tourist or not).

Also, some of you need to relax. If you're ok with traveling somewhere and getting a 100 Euro fine, then so be it. Others, (myself included) will be pissed. When you're traveling to a foreign country, it can be very stressful. Of course, you try to research everything-- history, culture, should you tip or should you not tip, are the bathrooms free or should you carry change, how does the train system work, how to get to your hotel and so forth and so on. It can be very stressful. Then, you are trying to get from one place to the next on time and with your bags (and, for me, my kids and husband) and you're also trying to snap pictures and enjoy the moments and... well, yes, you can very easily break the law without realizing it.
We were stopped for driving the wrong way in Turkey, but the policeman recognized we were tourists (aka, have no idea what we are doing and don't read Turkish-- few signs in the countryside were in English) and he let us go. Some empathy or compassion on the part of authorities is always welcomes by naïve travelers and really does leave a negative or positive impression.

This is a tough crowd. I live in San Francisco, which has a plethora of public transit systems all relatively connected through a clipper card. If you know enough to buy the card, you can use it for any of the several systems that go through San Francisco and neighboring towns. However if you don't, we have fare inspectors in San Francisco who are very happy to write you a ticket if you don't have the right card or the right amount or your transfers expired etc. I've seen fare inspectors at many stations over the years, and I've rarely seen write up an obvious tourists who had the wrong ticket or the wrong fare or hadn't paid the right amount.

The rules are not made for tourists. They are for everyone using the system. Why should tourists have different rules or different fines. If they don;t want to spend 2 minutes figuring out the system - then they have the option of walking or taking cabs.

And it sounds like the OP was trying to use one ticket for two people. Who would think that's correct?