Repeat-offending 'fare dodgers' on public transport must pay more
As Nashagazeta.ch notes, this will effectively mean that hundreds of databases will be merged into one, allowing faster identification of fare dodgers and the application of a graduated fine principle, whereby a repeat offense will cost more.
Previously, for example, if a passenger was caught without a ticket on a CFF train and the next day on a BLS train, they were not considered a repeat offender because the two companies' databases were not merged. In addition to fare evasion, the register will include information on cases where passengers did not pay for a class upgrade or night travel. The fines themselves remain unchanged.
The introduction of a common database is based on a 2015 parliamentary decision. The national register will be managed by CarPostal on behalf of the CH-direct association. Fare dodgers' data will remain in the register for two years and will be deleted if no other offenses are committed during that period.
The standards applied comply with Swiss data protection legislation, CH-direct's communiqué emphasizes. Inspectors and ticket sellers, for example, do not have direct access to the database. If an inspector finds a fare dodger, they will record the passenger's data and send it to the transport company's office, which will then check whether the passenger's name is already in the fare dodger register and issue a bill. Passengers who wish to know what information about them is stored in the register can submit a request.
Let us add that recently the publication 20 Minuten published the story of a 28-year-old resident of Biel who unexpectedly found a receipt from Bernmobil for payment of a fine for fare evasion in his mailbox. The fact is that the young man did not use public transport and only drove a car. To prove that a mistake had occurred, he had to take a day off and provide a sample of his signature. He is convinced that his identity was 'stolen' by one of his friends on Facebook who knew his name, address and date of birth – inspectors need only this information to issue a fine. According to representatives of transport companies, such cases are not uncommon.
According to CH-direct, about 60 million of the 2 billion trips on public transport in Switzerland are made by fare dodgers each year, but inspectors manage to catch only 800,000 'fare dodgers'. In other words, the transport industry loses more than 10 million francs annually.