Black driving alarm: 119,000 Viennese caught-these are the excuses!

Black driving alarm: 119,000 Viennese caught-these are the excuses!

Wien, Österreich - In 2024, an increase in the number of passengers without a valid ticket in Vienna was again found. Around 100 controllers from the Viennese lines are undercover in civil clothing daily to check the compliance with ticket obligation in local public transport. The controls are usually carried out in groups of two or three people and aim to identify black drivers and, if necessary, ask them to checkout. kosmo reported that 3.5 million passengers were checked last year, which is almost 5 % compared to the previous year.

of these controls had an impressive 96.6 % of the people reviewed. Nevertheless, 119,000 passengers were found without a ticket, which corresponds to a quota of 3.4 %. This number shows a slight increase in 0.2 percentage points compared to previous years. Despite the higher black driver quota, Vienna cuts off well in an international comparison. While the black driver quota in Berlin is 3.3 % and even 8 % in Paris, Vienna remains relatively stable. Today emphasizes that the introduction of the climatic and the distribution of cheap annual tickets in Vienna contribute to these low black drivers.

frequent excuses and challenges for inspectors

The inspectors report creative excuses called passengers to justify their missing tickets. Typical answers include that the smartphone battery is empty or that the dog has eaten the ticket. These excuses are not uncommon, and in some cases passengers react incomprehensibly or aggressively to the inspectors. For this reason, the control staff receives de -escalation training in order to be able to act professionally in difficult situations.

Investments in modern infrastructure and the training of the control staff are the focus of the Viennese lines in order to further reduce the black driver quota. SRF reports that public transport in other countries such as Switzerland has a similar trend. A record of black drivers was registered there, which is partly due to increasing risk to risk and increasing the use of public transport.

In Vienna, the responsible traffic authorities can count on a high level of acceptance among the population. With a record value of 1.3 million permanent tickets, Viennese shows that the citizens recognize the advantages of public transport. The interaction of consistent controls and customer -friendly offers could help to keep the passenger numbers stable in the future.