I've wanted to ask an Italian this, and didn't get around to it this last trip.
I'm not saying a tourist should ever try to ride free, but I can't recall any locals using the stamp machines and saw few of them at the ticket counters. Do they all have some sort of card to show if asked?
I think the majority of them pay for their tickets, but a lot sure do try to sit in better seats than they paid for.
Of course the Italians pay and get fine when they don't. I have seen lots of people who I think look local using the validation machine but also know some of them will have monthly passes. And some are trying to cheat.
The rail companies offer various passes, such as InterRail, for European citizens that allow unlimited travel in the class and the timeframe purchased…perhaps this is what you encountered. Trenitalia also has ticketless travel options for online or mobile phone users. There’s no paper ticket, thus nothing to validate at the machine.
The last time I was in Rome, I crammed myself along with a bunch of other people into the back door of a bus. There was no way to breathe, let alone stamp a ticket or flash a pass.
Also, some places such as Venice have vastly lower rates for transportation for residents versus tourists.
We took a train from Florence to Prato and then Prato to Lucca. Prato is really very interesting by the way with its Castello d. Imperatore.
And I was watching the other passengers. A few people that looked local, bought tickets, at the machines, and had them punched, but the vast majority of passengers didn't seem to do any thing other than get on and get off. I did notice that these other people all had cell phones and used them. Is that it? Can they buy the ticket with their cell phone and then show a confirmation screen to the conductor if asked?
The buses are a different story. I never saw a single non-tourist ever punch a ticket or show a bus pass of any kind. I'm assuming that this is some sort of bus pass honor system and that they show the pass only if asked to.
I'm just curious since this is so very different than any US public transportation system whereby EVERYONE shows the driver a pass or pays on the bus, unless its a Free Ride zone like Seattle. And the Italian Public Transportation system is kind of a thing of beauty once you figure out its little quirks.
Francis, I think you are engaging in a little selective perception. I have seen lots of locals use the validation boxes on buses in Italy. It is easy to control on a bus when you have a driver sitting up front. But the light rail system in Denver works a little like the Italian system. Your ticket has to be validated at yellow box prior to boarding the train. Strictly on the honor system backed up with a few fare inspectors and $50 fines. I have seen other transit system that work the same way.
The answer to your question is yes. On Trenitalia, for example, tickets may be purchased electronically via web or mobile phone. Passengers can elect to receive a text message with confirmation details that can then be provided to the ticket personnel on board the train. If you observed passengers referencing their mobile phone messages with the ticket taker, perhaps this explains it.
I agree that a great many of them use some type of long term pass, otherwise they will get fined. In fact Rome is really the only city I have been in that strongly enforces ticket checks. In the course of a week stay, I was probably asked to show my ticket to the uniformed transit cops a half dozen times. However, they do target trains like the Leonardo Express more often, getting tourist to pay a 50 Euro fine for not stamping the ticket.
