Public transport - No advertising for drivers with black license plates - Will Potsdam be an example?
The Berlin Senate Department for Justice has spoken out against valuing traveling without a ticket in public transportation as a criminal offense in the future. "It would send a false signal if those who act unsociably by not buying a ticket would hardly face consequences", the Justice Administration stated in response to an inquiry from dpa. In Potsdam, the city council has achieved that Schwarzfahren there will no longer be reported at least.
The Berlin Justice Administration sees no need to change the existing legal situation. "A significant increase in fare-evading passengers would also create a justice gap between paying and non-paying users of public transportation."
Justice Administration refers to the Social Ticket
"Berlin already offers a 9-Euro Social Ticket, which targets people with multiple problems", so the Justice Administration. According to the current legal situation, fare evasion is punishable under Paragraph 265a of the Criminal Code as a fraud.
According to the Justice Administration, a report is only filed when the person in question is found without a valid fare document three times within twelve months. Until 2023, this period was 24 months. "According to the BVG, the halving of the period has significantly reduced the number of prosecutions."
Greens see Potsdam as a role model
Berlin's Green Fraction Leader Werner Graf demanded that Berlin follow the Potsdam example. "Prosecution for traveling without a ticket intensifies social problems and inequalities, as socially and socially disadvantaged people are often affected." This social inequality continues in the enforcement of penalties if the affected persons cannot pay the fines and therefore have to serve a replacement imprisonment.
The transport political spokesman of the SPD Fraction in the House of Representatives, Tino Schopf, told dpa that the decision from Brandenburg brings new momentum to the debate on whether it is still timely to pursue the embezzlement of services as a criminal offense and not as an administrative offense.
SPD is against individual fines
"Anyone caught traveling without a valid fare document today can be fined an increased fare surcharge. If they do not pay, they may have to reckon with a replacement imprisonment in the extreme case", Schopf said.
The traffic political spokesman of the Coalition Government in the Bundestag has spoken out in favor of reforming criminal law at this location. "I welcome this explicitly and consider it much more sensible than local or communal individual fines."
Schwarzfahren will also continue to be penalized in Potsdam: For traveling without a valid ticket, an increased fare surcharge of 60 Euros will also apply in the future, according to a spokesperson for the Stadtwerke.
- The Berlin Senate Administration believes that devaluing ticketless travel in public transportation as a criminal offense could send the wrong message, implying that those who act unsociably by not purchasing tickets will face minimal consequences.
- The issue of ticketless travel on public transportation has been addressed in Potsdam, where the city council has decided that such incidents will no longer be reported.
- According to the Berlin Justice Administration, there is no need to alter the current legal framework, as a rise in fare-evading passengers would result in a justice gap between paying and non-paying public transportation users.
- The Justice Administration refers to the Social Ticket, a 9-Euro ticket aimed at individuals with multiple challenges, which Berlin already offers.
- Under the current legal situation, fare evasion is punishable under Section 265a of the Criminal Code as a form of fraud.
- A report is only filed if a person is discovered three times without a valid fare document within a twelve-month period, according to the Justice Administration; prior to 2023, this period was 24 months.
