Fare dodging on Germany’s public transport has been steadily rising over the past decade, with foreign nationals disproportionately represented in the stats, but instead of cracking down on the issue, Germany’s justice minister has called for fare evasion to be decriminalized.
Stefanie Hubig, of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), argued that prosecuting passengers for travelling without a ticket places an unnecessary strain on the justice system, questioning whether those unable to pay fines should be sent to prison at all.
She said courts are being clogged with minor cases that absorb time and resources, which could be better directed toward more serious criminal matters, a view not shared by public transport operators.
“From my point of view, there are good reasons for decriminalization,” she said, adding that lawmakers must consider whether fare evasion should continue to be treated as a criminal offense at all.
As noted by Bild, travelling without a valid ticket is a criminal offense under Section 265a of the criminal code. Offenders face fines or up to one year in prison, and those unable to pay can be jailed under so-called substitute custodial sentences. Each year, between 7,000 and 9,000 people are imprisoned under this provision alone.
Some argue that the system is both inefficient and socially counterproductive. The German Bar Association has backed calls for decriminalization, with legal experts questioning whether the punishment delivers any meaningful benefit to society. They argue that the current approach disproportionately affects poorer individuals while offering limited deterrent value.
Green and Left Party MPs have already introduced draft legislation to remove criminal penalties for fare evasion and instead treat it as a civil offense.
However, the proposal has been ridiculed by conservatives who argue that weakening enforcement sends the wrong message at a time when rule-breaking on public transport is already rising. CDU MP Günter Krings dismissed the initiative, saying there would be no end to criminal prosecution under the CDU/CSU.
Public transport operators have warned that removing criminal penalties would only further embolden fare evaders, especially repeat offenders, while leaving companies and law-abiding passengers to absorb the financial consequences.
In some regions, such as in the eastern state of Thuringia, inspectors and conductors have reportedly been told to avoid checking tickets amid a rise in violence against staff.
A series of violent incidents linked to fare disputes has intensified concerns. In one case in Dresden, a man who had been removed from a bus after travelling without a ticket returned and stabbed a ticket inspector, leaving him seriously injured. In another incident in Magdeburg, a woman without a valid ticket attacked multiple railway staff and bit police officers after being asked to leave a train.
In Berlin, a ticket inspector was left permanently blind in one eye after being brutally beaten by a couple during a dispute over fares, with the victim later telling a court that his “old life had been taken” from him. The inspector was called a “dirty n****r” during the attack by 24-year-old Mohammad A. and his wife, Israa M. (22).
In February of this year, a 36-year-old railway employee died after being violently assaulted by a passenger during a ticket inspection.
In 2023, Germany’s rail system saw an explosion in violence, with 75 violent and sexual crimes every single day. There were 25,640 violent crimes recorded in 2023, a 42 percent increase from 2019. There were 1,898 sexual crimes, a 60 percent increase, and 555 knife crimes.
Against this backdrop, opponents argue that removing criminal penalties for fare evasion risks further weakening already strained enforcement mechanisms. Without the threat of prosecution, they say, authorities will have fewer tools to deal with persistent offenders, potentially exacerbating existing tensions.
