Today I survived an unvalidated train ticket

Sandra, thanks for the story.

Just to put you at ease, you're not the first.

I am on trains every day at work, and assist in the enforcement of correct ticketing here in the UK, and have been preaching the validation of tickets in countries - especially Italy - where that is required. I took a long sequence of Regionale trains around Bologna early this year, and around Vicenza later in the summer; three times I got on trains before I realized I'd forgotten AGAIN. Luckily each time I had time to dash off, stamp and jump back on. Plenty of sweat though...

Sandra,

I've encountered both types of Conductors in Italy during my travels.

The first type are somewhat "flexible" and will let passengers with unvalidated tickets or incorrect reservations "off the hook" with a warning. In the case of reservations, I've seen them sell reservations on the spot but not charge a fine.

The second type are the extreme opposite, ruthless Conductors who accept NO excuses and ALWAYS fine passengers with even the slightest irregularity in their tickets. They don't care what excuses are offered, as it makes no difference to them.

Apparently the Swiss rail system has now adopted similar tactics, so travellers will also have to be vigilant when riding the rails there.

This is a good reminder for all to be sure to validate and double-check reservation details!

Big confession. Twenty years ago I was taking only my second trip to Europe - to Hungary, of all places. I had not grown up with mass transit so I didn't really know how these things worked. In Budapest, I managed to buy some tickets but could never figure out how to validate them. I noticed people just zipping in and out of the turnstiles, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't like it was easy to any signage or English speakers about this, especially with Hungary fresh out of communism. I rode all over the city with no problem. Ten days later (following a sister city exchange with a Seattle music group in the southern city of Pecs), my bachelor brother (who was a conservative internal auditor with Boeing) and I went back to Budapest together. I'd planned out our sightseeing route and as we went to get on the subway, I gave my brother a ticket to carry. He fretted about trying to validate them before and during the ride. When we got off at the art museum stop and were breezing out the door, an official stepped in front of us and gruffly demanded "tickets." I pulled out those unvalidated tickets. He wasn't buying my story about being a dumb tourist not being able to figure out the validation system. He wanted us to pay a fine and as I debated the issue, my brother was yammering at me to pay the darn fine. It was only after the ticket police demanded our passports, and my brother went into panic mode that I forked over the fine. I've done a bit of traveling since then and now am very careful to purchase and VALIDATE my tickets. Which isn't always as easy to figure out as we tourists would like, right, Sandra? (LOL and relieved to have survived that experience.)

Oh, I'm sure so many have similar stories to tell! Mine from the wretchedly slow Berlin Underground. Several years ago, husband and I needed an early morning trip - one stop -- to transfer to the rail station. We counted exact change the night before and set it aside to buy our tix on the platform. As we started filling the machine, the metro train arrived. Knowing it would be a long wait for the next one, we rushed to get on - neither of us with a paid fare. At the time, Berlin was notorious for checking tix. We knew the risk, but time was money in Berlin waiting on the metro platform for another train! As luck would have it, the ticket checkers announced themselves just as we pulled away from the platform. They checked everybody in our car, but fortunately got distracted with a group of young men just beyond where husband and I stood trembling in fear! Longest metro ride of our lives! Quickly stepped off when the doors opened, briefly lost one another in the panic, and marched straight up the steps to buy tix for our next ride. Won't ever try that again! Burned into memory!

A couple of years ago forgot to validate our tickets out of Bologna on a Regionale train, a senior moment I'm afraid because we know the score. Realised just as the train started moving so went to look for the train conductor. Found her and she called up a validation code on her phone and wrote it on the ticket. If we had waited until she reached our seat we would have been fined.

Unvalidated train tickets can happen at home too. My husband and did the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K run in San Francisco two weekends ago. We normally don't use public transportation there. But since we took a cab from our hotel to the start of the race, looked easy enough to take the Muni train back downtown SF. So I figured out the fare was $2.00 each, the "bus" stop location, and times/frequency. We hop on the train (with a bunch of other people) at one of the doors that opened. We see a "machine" to swipe a bus pass or clipper card, which we don't have, but no place to put our $4.00. After 5 minutes I see a small sign on the door we entered with a "no $$". So apparently we should have entered at the front door to pay our fare, but the train was too crowded to work our way to the front to pay. Lucky for us, no Muni employees were checking for tickets.

Especially in central Europe, it's called "Riding Black" when you've either not validated &/or have no ticket, while taking "on your honor" transit system rides. Generally, the "enforcers" are thuggish-looking middle aged guys, wearing jeans &, always, leather jackets. They're especially intimidating and onerous in Budapest. BUT, many DO have a heart, and are just working stiffs trying to get by in a job where they're hated by one and all. Check out a 2003 Hungarian movie, called "Kontrol," for a view of their side of "catching" accidental &/or deliberate "black" riders.

The title to your thread gave me heart palpitations. Briefly, my BFF and I were traveling to Budapest for a day trip from our home base in Bratislava. We didn't know we were supposed to get our tickets validated (I should have read more forums). After thinking we were going to get left at the border, we paid a $50 "fine" to the conductor, who escorted us to the ticket agent in Budapest when we arrived. He said something to her, probably translated into English as "I'll split this $50 with you that I just took from these stupid American women if you'll stamp their ticket." She stamped them, he practically threw them at us, and left. That was our wonderful welcome to Budapest. Not impressed.

This almost happened to me and my husband in Prague. We hopped on a crowded tram the first morning we were there and did not see, nor could we get to the validation boxes. At the next stop most of the people got off and we then validated our tickets. The very next stop, plainclothes inspectors got on, showed us the tiniest badge I have ever seen and looked at our tickets. Phew, just squeaked by. A British couple in front of us hadn't validated and were being questioned and had to get their passports out.

Ok, now that you all have put the fear of God in me...tell me how and why to validate a ticket. My husband and I will be taking a RS tour in Sept to Italy and on our own for a few days after and will be riding trains. I don't understand, if you buy a ticket at the train station, what does validating do? Also, what do you look for - another box, window, sign? Please enlighten me...

For unreserved trains, a ticket is good on any train. Validating it prevents it from being re-used, in the event that the conductor does not punch it on the train.

So, if you are getting on an unreserved train, validate the ticket before hand. You can do this in boxes distributed around the station; others here will probably post links to pictures of what the machines actually look like.

If your train ticket is for a specific train and seat, then you do not need to validate it. If it can be used for any train and to sit anywhere, you must validate it. Boxes are always located at the head of each platform and it just stamps a date/time on the ticket.

Many metro and bus systems work the same way. You are given a blank ticket and must validate it (either by passing through turnstyles or by punching it in a machine).

Thank you Harold and Douglas. Very helpful replies. Many of us are even noobs at navigating public transportation in the states. I take Amtrak on occasion in the U.S. and never have a specific reserved seat but I don't ever have to validate the ticket.

My wife and I have reserved seats on a specific train from Rome to Florence in July, so based on your information, we should not have to validate those tickets.