Traffic ticket from Pisa

Pisa is one of the several cities in Italy that have the Zona Traffico Limitado (ZTL) areas. They are not scams. They is usually very clear signage to warn you about entering the area. Of course, the signs are in Italian. Reportedly, at least 600 ZTL tickets are issued each day in Florence alone. At about 140E each, that's quite a tidy sum. First, a camera snaps a picture of your license plate as you cross into the ZTL. Second, if you had a valid address in Italy, you would receive the ticket in the mail and have a chance to appear in court to challenge just as you do in the U.S.A. Since you don't live there, the police have to track down your license plate number. By then, the court date has past and you are no facing increased fines. And, you didn't know a thing about it. Next, the police track the license plate down to the rental car agency and they immediately rat you out. In some cases, they add an admin charge onto your credit card for their part of the hassle. Finally, the city turns the whole thing over to a collection agency and usually within a year, you become aware of the whole thing. Most likely, you did enter the ZTL without realizing it so this is not a scam. Should you pay the fine? It would depend a lot if you intend to ever enter Italy again. I've never heard travel stories of anybody with a ticket on their record re-entering Italy and being perp-walked to the police station from customs. But, who knows.

Debbie, I suspect this is not a "scam", as it follows a familiar pattern and time line. It's quite likely you ventured into one of many Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian cities (and even smaller towns, as I noticed signs in Pienza when I was there last May, although not all towns use the automated Cameras to the same extent as Florence). As a previous reply mentioned, the Cameras don't differentiate between tourists, Italians or drivers from other parts of the E.U. Everyone that passes through the Cameras gets "nicked", so this is clearly not being "mostly done to tourists". I believe the assumption is that if you're driving there, you have to be cognizant of the local driving laws and prepared to face the consequences if these are violated. Unfortunately, this is one of the pitfalls of driving in Europe. Just curious, was the ticket received from European Municipality Outsourcing? I can't offer any advice on how best to resolve this situation. Hopefully Ron will spot this Thread, as I'm sure he'll have some good tips. Good luck!

Debbie says "It seems like a scam for Pisa to get money from tourists as this is mostly done to tourists." Now where did you hear this and have you verified if it is true? Do you have statistics? How do you think "Pisa" can tell a tourist's car from a resident's car? Even Italians rent cars, so can "Pisa" tell whether it is an Italian's rental car or a foreign tourist's?

If you were driving a rental, it could be a very valid ticket for ignoring a ZTL restricted area.
Incidentally, I read awhile ago something on Ron in Rome's website where Pisa attempted to scam him. There were some dead giveaways that this wasn't legit if I remember correctly. I would search his website.

Try searching under traffic tickets -- I will bet there are two hundred responses on this subject. Very common experience especially around Florence. Camera don't pick on tourists. I doubt if the ticket is a "mistake." I am sure you incurred the violation even if it was unknown to you or accidental. You only have two choices -- pay it or don't pay. No one knows nor has there been any experiences posted with not paying. If you choice not to pay I would immediately cancel the credit card that you used for the rental so that there is no chance the rental company can charge your card.

There are lots of posts on Trip Advisor about such tickets.

And if you read the other posts on this subject, you'll see that you may, MAY, have more tickets coming...

Debbie, did your traffic notice come by regular mail or certified mail? If it's the former, so far it's just wishful thinking on the part of the bill collector.