Comments on: Schwarzfahring for fun and profit?

By: Judy Jenner

Judy Jenner — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:50:14 +0000

I just learned the correct English term for “Schwarzfahrer” — thank you! In my native Austria, schwarzfahren was always kind of a sport, well, at least in high school, and I know many folks who successfully traveled on trains between cities for, well, free. I never tried that — guess I am too pflichtbewusst for that. It is pretty fascinating, by American standards, that you can just get on a bus/S-Bahn, etc. and that your ticket doesn’t get checked when you get on.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:00:18 +0000

…..und der kerl der 102 mal kontrolliert wurde hat echt pech….haha

By: Claudia

Claudia — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:59:05 +0000

Lol…it really does depend what City you’re in bzw. what “Verkehrsbund” you’re stuck with. In Freiburg (South Germany), they only seldomly do controlling on the Straßenbahn. You can basically take the bus and not be controlled for months on end. In NRW however, they seriously stop you every single time you get on the bus and look at your ticket closely to make sure you wrote your name right nor something. O.o In Hamburg (I live there too. Cool town, but the weather sucks), I was here 2 weeks and they didn’t check once. U-bahn, S-bahn, Bus….even though I had a ticket…..Ah well, schicksal halt, ne?^^

Cheers!

By: Phil A

Phil A — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:49:13 +0000

@Bellerophon

I also recommend using the “I’m a dumb foreign man who doesn’t understand what’s going on at all” whenever you go “schwarzfahren.”

Highly recommended, it will work. Not necessarily with Americans only… At least here in Austria.

By: Bellerophon

Bellerophon — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:03:08 +0000

I read about “Schwarzfahren” all the time. The “official” term is: Beförderungserschleichung

What a beautiful German word. 25 letters, an umlaut, methaphorical use of “schleichen”; gorgeous.

By: Jim Morton

Jim Morton — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:32:49 +0000

I’ve noticed at the Drupa trade show in Düsseldorf (a huge trade show held every four years) that no one ever checks the tickets. There are just too many people and everyone with a Drupa pass rides the trains free anyway, so they don’t even bother with it. I did get on the wrong train once, but I just did my “I’m a dumb American, I don’t understand” routine and they let me slide. It was a few years back, so it wasn’t too far from the truth at the time.

By: 42317

42317 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:29:50 +0000

That does depend on the personell situation and motivation of the company that’s running the streetcar or what have you. A friend of mine had been studying in Saarbrücken and during these five years he never bought a single ticket. Calculating that controls were so rare that despite the extra fee of 40 E he paid about 10-20 % of the amount of money that legal transportation would have cost.

I’m experiencing something similar: I ride the train from Trier to Saarbrücken like a dozen times per year, and, really, I get controlled like once or twice during that time. If I didn’t have a seasonal ticket I would have to pay around 450 E for legal transportation, but assuming that I’d be caught twice a year my “fee” would be around 120 E.

Depending on time and place crime DOES pay.

By: Phil A

Phil A — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:35:59 +0000

Stupid people are found everywhere.