What will happen if I do not pay the Florence ATAF Bus Fine?

#8 on the Community Guidelines for this page:
Do not help people break laws. Speaking of the existence of law breaking is OK. Sharing how to circumvent visa restrictions, scam hotels, or perform other illegal acts is prohibited.

I don't see that anyone has offered any advice along those lines. Lot's of other advice has been offered, though.

Luis, just pay the fine. That and that alone will ensure there are no repercussions. If you decide not to pay you risk higher fines and being stopped before entering or leaving the country. They have your passport number and your name. That's all they need to flag you. Donna

Oh for crying out loud, just pay the fine and stop thinking about it.

So, Luis, are you OK with people visiting your own country and not paying their fines? Pay the fine, there's a good boy.

This topic was discussed on this board in mid July. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/71201/ticket-in-rome-for-riding-bus-without-a-ticket.html The situation was almost identical. Aside from quite a bit of the usual judgemental grandstanding by the masses, the answer is that there is no certainty that you will (or will not) have authorities catch up with you. With that said, while musing over what to do, consider both the financial consequences (additional fines, interest, incarceration) and the huge inconvenience of the above when you get pulled out of line as you file through customs on your next visit to Italy. Is even a 5% chance of that happening worth it?

You're asking people here if it's ok to ignore a valid fine for stealing from the public bus system (whether unknowingly or blatently). The answers should all be the same: pay the fine.

I think it's highly doubtful anything will come of not paying the fine. But that's not the issue, really, is it? Whether intentional or not, you violated their law. There's a price to pay for doing that. As a wise TV cop once said, don't do the crime if you can't do the time. There's no honor in running away from your responsibilities. You screwed up. It was a minor screw up, but a screw up nonetheless. Face up to it like a man. In short, do the right thing, it's good for your soul.

Luis, would it be safe to say that you regret having created this post right about now..............?

I didn't mean that anyone had offered that advice. Quite the opposite - I was trying to explain why no one had.

As one who believes that travel is a metaphor for life, as a professor ethics at a small callege in the Midwest I offer the opinion that every action has a moral or ethical dimension.

Just pay the fine because, at very least, it is cheap tuition for any number of seminars (ethics, comparative ethics, modern urban planning, game theory, and on and on). Although I hate to be like this, certain legal questions remain: assuming that this particular kind of fine goes unpaid (which it should not) what are the legal consequences, possible and probable, to an AU citizen (a) in AU and (b) entering the EU and (c) at Hertz and (d) driving in Italy? I'd be surprised (understatement) if any international lawyers chime in with citations to applicable regs, if any; but, it would be interesting. In the meantime, just pay the stupid fine and call it a day. Maybe. For bonus points and to worry even more you and others who do this: how will you, from an ops point of view, remit the funds so that there is a confirmed Florentine law enforcement data base entry clearing the ticket that provides you with a printable paper trail that you can show to Italy Customs, Hertz and Italian law enforcement, proving, for their respective purposes, that the ticket actually was cleared? All of the above is more than sufficient motivation for everyone to take 2 seconds to get the ticket punched in the first place. Hash-tag Raskolnikov

I note that not one person has offered Luis a pragmatic answer to his question. Doesn't hurt to try though, I suppose. If I had a band, I would definitely name it "Hash-tag Raskolnikov." Post-punk polka, something like that.