North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Justice Limbach wants to decriminalize black driving
Limbach told WDR that driving without a ticket is fundamentally about enforcing increased fares by a private transport company. Law enforcement agencies are not there to collect private debts. "We don't see that in other areas of economic life either, where the state pursues private wrongdoing."
The Green politician sees the transport companies themselves as responsible: They could ensure that people only travel with a ticket through access controls. "Try taking the metro in Paris without a ticket. It's not possible," he said to WDR. "That's the responsibility of the transport company, not society as a whole."
Limbach emphasized that law enforcement agencies should focus on what's really important: "Combating crime, for example violence against emergency services, police, and civil servants. We need to pursue mafia and organized crime." Too much time is wasted on conducting criminal proceedings for transport companies.
Buschmann had said in November that he wanted to make driving without a ticket an administrative offense to relieve the judiciary. The penalty procedure should be standardized and less personnel-intensive.
However, the transport companies warned in the current "Spiegel" against decriminalization. Driving without a ticket must remain a criminal offense, said Oliver Wittke, chairman of the transport association Rhein-Ruhr. "Downgrading it to an administrative offense would be an invitation to even more abuse."
The Stuttgart transport association VVS called the plans in "Spiegel" "the wrong signal to honest passengers." Lost revenue would have to be offset by higher fares. The Hamburg transport association warned that significant losses are already being caused by fare evasion. The industry association VDV estimates annual revenue losses of up to one billion euros nationwide.
Limbach mentioned that Limbach, being a Green politician, believes that transport companies, not law enforcement agencies or society as a whole, should implement access controls to prevent individuals from traveling without tickets, referring to cities like Paris where such actions are not tolerated. In response to suggestions to make driving without a ticket an administrative offense, the transport association Rhein-Ruhr headed by Oliver Wittke argued against decriminalization, asserting that downgrading it would encourage more abuse.
