"Krone" ombudswoman

Doctor too fast: patient fined on the subway

A reader took the U4 home from a doctor's appointment. Because he finished earlier than planned, he was fined (symbolic image).(Bild: Manfred Helmer)

Although he had bought a ticket before starting his journey, Alfred G. was fined for fare evasion. The problem: his doctor had apparently been too fast during his treatment.

The 69-year-old bought the ticket in the online store at home in Lower Austria at lunchtime. Based on the doctor's appointment, he decided to start his journey at 4.52 pm. "But as the doctor had already finished earlier, I started the journey around 30 minutes earlier," explains our reader.

He was promptly caught in a ticket inspection on the U4 and had to pay a fine of 105 euros. "It shouldn't matter when I start my journey, as long as I've paid for the ticket. I only travel to Vienna about once a year," continued Mr. G.

Half an hour doesn't matter
Unfortunately, it doesn't matter at all, as Wiener Linien confirmed on request. The passenger had bought a ticket online for the Vienna core zone and a route in Lower Austria and had explicitly selected validity from 4.52 pm. This was indicated both during the ordering process and on the ticket itself.

The validity of tickets is clearly regulated and is always clearly indicated. Unfortunately, a goodwill solution is not possible in this case.

It shows once again that you can't be too careful when buying tickets. And the fact that someone who has the wrong ticket is treated in the same way as someone who travels illegally is something those responsible could actually reconsider.