Metro fine in Athens

I don't recall any official presence of any kind on the Metro, but have heard of similar experiences in Rome on the Airport-Termini run and failing to validate your ticket. As for the fine, if you have an official document and they have your passport info, it is concievable that failure to pay may get you a tag in some computer that would give you problems upon re-entry to the EU. All that is assuming that the local transit authority has access to that system and that they "prosecute" you, essentially issue a warrant. Seeing that they did not demand immediate cash payment, I doubt it is a scam. Basically it seems as though you paid for a short trip and should have bought the long trip.

This NOT uncommon. This happens in France also, if you do not save your ticket stub after boarding, you can be fined ( about 50 euros) payable on the spot when you try to exit. No they are usaully not understanding with tourists.
I don't think they can do anything with your passport info, but hey anything is possible It is possible if you don't pay that your passport could be " tagged" , I suggest you ask someone with a bit more knowledge about this then on these boards. Try your embassy, or the Greek embassy perhaps. Technically if you don't pay the fine you are most likely conisidered to be breaking some law. They could also just let it pass, with you being a tourist and all, I mean they didn't make you pay on the spot which was pretty good luck for you.

To follow up:

I contacted the Athens Metro shortly after returning. I found the metro website online (www.ametro.gr), and tracked down their main email ([email protected]). I sent them a note explaining what happened as well as our ticket numbers ("Series XX Numbers YYY and YYY"). They replied a day or two later saying it was our fault, but adding:

"Despite of this, we inform you that the e-mail itself was considered as an application for cancellation of fines"

and

"The applications will be examined by the relevant committee and we will inform you about the final results."

That was two months ago. We never heard back from them. Not surprised.

We didn't pay the fines, then, nor do I plan to at this point.

• Paul

Hi Paul!

Thanks for your post. My wife and I had the EXACT experience as you including the 60 euros fine and handing over our passports. It was as if we had written your post! It happened to us on Oct 13th We were angry and embarrassed because the ATM-like machine that printed out our metro tickets at Monastiraki Station did not indicate anything about a different fare for the airport.

I have a former co-worker who is Greek and I had him read over the fine. It said that the fine should be paid in 20 days or the fine would increase by 10 times (ie 600 euros). It also said something about how if it still is isn't paid, the fine would be taken out of one's tax returns (I assume this would only apply to Greek citizens). My co-worker chuckled at the fine as he read it and said he would not pay it. A French friend of mine also laughed at it and said she wouldn't pay.

I found another couple with the identical experience on Lonely Planet's ThornTree site.

What did you end up doing?????

I wouldn't consider it outrageous. It's a rule that you have a correct ticket or you risk a fine. Just as in this country, being foreign or ignorant about the rule doesn't excuse you. And they asked you for your passports because you didn't have a Greek ID. If you hadn't turned them over, they probably could have detained you. Just like if you get pulled over for speeding here, you'll get a ticket or could also be arrested. I will tell you that when I lived in Germany 10 years ago, I got one of those tickets. I was leaving just a few short weeks later, so I never paid it. When we went back to visit in 2005, I was so paranoid when we went through customs, but nothing happened. Then again, my name is different now because I got married. I'd say if they copied your passport info, and they cross check that info with customs, you could always be nabbed if you ever flew back into the country. If you don't plan on doing that, I wouldn't pay it either!!!

Paul - it really is not outrageous, in many countries you are fined on the spot if you do not have a validated ticket, you have the wrong ticket. In many cities they will take you to a ATM to get the ticket paid. Consider yourself lucky. If you plan on returning to Greece you may want to pay the fine, I would hate to be detained at some point in my future travels. We took the same metro in September to the airport and there were plenty of signs stating that you had to pay a addtional cost to be on the metro that goes to the airport. The ticket was 5 euro each.

My wife and I are still in greece, right now I write from santarini. My wife and I were traveling from athens to thessaloniki and ASKED the ticket agent for TWO TICKETS to the airport. The guy handed us two tickets and I handed him money and off we went. riding one metro car to the airport we were approached by the same two agents probably and the rest of the story happened the same as the poster up above. The signs are all in greek and wether you read them or not if you ask the agent for two tickets to the airport you should get two tickets ALL THE WAY to the airport. I DON'T THINK IT IS IGNORANT WHEN IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY TO ASK FOR HELP...ESPECIALLY SOMEONE WHO ISSUES TICKETS ALL DAY LONG AT THE METRO IN WHICH WE ARE TRAVELING ON. We called the metro in athens and were told to write [email protected] a letter stating what happened and we will hear back. We intend to do that but under NO CIRCUMSTANCE ARE WE PAYING THIS FINE.

thank you and we will keep you informed.

Update:

I did eventually receive a final email from a representative of the Metro, several weeks later, letting me know that the ticket/fine had been dismissed.

I had the same experience many years ago in Budapest. I handed over my passport and was demanded to pay approximately $5 on the spot. Of course the ticket machines were in Hungarian and few people spoke English at the time so I had to suck it up and pay.

My mistake was thinking I could transfer between lines on one ticket like most big cities. WRONG! I needed a ticket for every line. The ticket was only worth cents so that was most annoying. In protest, I walked every where after that.

For the first time recently in London, I even got stopped by an undercover ticket inspector standing a couple of feet beyond the turnstile. It's funny how we go in autopilot when people demand something from you. Okay, stranger with some sort of badge you just flashed at me, here is my ticket!

It's unfortunate you didn't know how to validate the ticket. I think young people are profiled in a way that works against them when it comes to being a 20-something visitor to a foreign country. I don't know if you have the 'look' of a backpacker but that might have contributed to them stopping you. I'm guessing she saw you walk through the turnstile without validating your ticket and assumed you were just another young, arrogant foreigner trying to scam the system. A little understanding on her part would have gone a long way to ease the situation but she's probably been conditioned by past experience to turn off her heart.

To appeal you'll have to pay for an attorney to represent you in a scheduled hearing, assuming you plan to stick around long enough to fight it. But first I'd try to contact the Greek National Tourist Office in Athens to ask for advice. Don't do it by phone. Go there in person. There's an office on Amalias Street, which runs behind Syntagma Square between the Parliament Building and the Metro Station.

http://www.athensinfoguide.com/gentoursimoffices.htm

Realistically your choices are to pay the fine or ignore it and accept the consequences if and/or when they land on you.

I had a very similar experience this weekend in Athens. I bought a ticket to the airport at Syngtama (sic) and then proceeded to the platform. Separating the lobby from the interior official metro station that requires a ticket were a row of hip height metal columns. I cannot read Greek obviously and saw no slot for the ticket so my guess was, immediately, that my ticket was magnetic and would be read as I passed the metal columns. so I walked toward my platform and then was asked for my ticket by a uniformed woman. She glanced at it, demanded my passport, and then her colleague explained that I hadn't 'validated' my ticket and was due in court in 3-4 days if I wished to attempt an appeal of the 60 fine!!!! I had had the worst travellig weekend already - card cancelled, flighty missed, lost, so I broke into tears and the officers just got angrier. I am a twenty year old college student from the US and thefine was unjust and now I don't understand how to pay the thing because the whole tickets in Greek. does anyone know how to appeal this??

Hi On our first holidy to greece we had the same problem on exiting the airport at athens and buying a metro ticket and not seeing the validator machines. Got on to the train as soon as the doors closed the ticket inspectors were on to us
demanding ticket inspections. They gave both of pink fine papers for 60 euros each for two none validated 5 euro tickets. the hotel porters said don't pay the fine so we did'nt. will post what happens in the next few months!!! Chriser

We will be taking the metro... very early morning.. from central Athens to the airport also. In order to avoid the above mentioned problem, could someone explain exactly what kind of tickets we will buy and how they are validated?

The ticket is small and has a magnetic strip. There are turnstiles where you slip the ticket in a slot and pick it back up from another slot on the other side of the turnstile.

Margaret--I want to mention, since you said "very early morning", that the Airport Metro takes 45 minutes and doesn't begin running until around 05:30, so if you need to be at the airport before then you'll either have to take a taxi or the Airport Express Bus X96 from alongside Syntagma Square in Central Athens. Buy your ticket from the driver and validate it in the little ticket machine inside the bus by sticking it in the slot so it's stamped. The bus leaves Syntagma every 20-30 minutes, 24/7/365 and costs €3.2 per person. There's plenty of luggage storage space inside the bus. Keep a sharp eye out on your stuff if the bus or Metro is crowded and guard against pickpockets.

we had the same experence within one hour of arriving at athens airport.
we bought two 5 euro tickets at the ticket office
the clerk told us to turn left and go down the stairs to the platform. we boarded the train, the doors closed, and within two minutes the ticket inspectors were on to us asking for ticket inspections. they told us that we had not validated our tickets and would receive a 60 euro fine each.
I have contacted the greek tourist board in london
requesting better signage for the validator machines, especially at the airport terminal, where the tourist seems to be fair game.
other than this, watch out for pickpockets
we did enjoy our athens holiday apart from the above.
chriser

I vote for the bus. Were in Athens last October and took the bus to the airport. Less walking, far easier, and less risk. Follow Lee's directions.

Recent anti-government activities and security concerns in Greece, Spain and actually throughout the EU have caused immigration authorities there to exchange information more freely and to take a closer look at visitors' documents and history, all made easier by shared computer databases. You could be in for a nasty surprise.

My wife and I had the same experience in '08. We only had enough Euro to get one ticket, so we took our chances and lost. It is now 2010 and we are thinking of going to Spain.

I highly doubt that the EU is that advanced where they would even spend time to flag your passport for a train violation in one country, but does anyone think this could happen and we would have to pay the fine in Spain?

Again, it would probably be way more time and effort to import to a database, share the data over all the countries, collect the fee in one country and then send that money to another country....but my wife is paranoid.

Hi! I just got fined today for having a student ticket and not having my student card with me. Now I have to go to some office somewhere to show my student card. I don't intend on going to show my card and I doubt anyone will ever follow up the fine. Its the Greek way....the lazy way!

Kathleen your rant out of the blue (new poster) has woken up a thread from 5 years ago that was last awake 2 years ago. If you want to discuss something please start a thread. This helpline is just that - a place to ask questions - not to rant and try to encourage breaking of laws. That is against our community guidelines.