Buying ticket on board in Germany

[zero]

I'm currently on a train from Konstanz to Karlsruhe and had my ticket checked.

One passenger presented a Swiss Pass (GA) and some sort of Austrian e-ticket, which was obviously not accepted, despite the passenger arguing.

I thought that travelling without a valid ticket would result in a larger fine with personal details collected (have observed this in the past), but bizarrely the guard simply asked for 9 euros.

A credit card was offered but the guard could only accept cash.

The passenger had only a 50 euro note which the guard did not want to accept.

But then he saw a 10 Swiss franc note in the wallet and said to just give him that. And he gave back 92 euro cents as change!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is it an IC/ICE? Fairly sure on board sales are still possible.

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Is it an IC/ICE? Fairly sure on board sales are still possible.

On-board sales were recently abolished on IC/ICE in most circumstances.

Regarding that exchange, if it's a local train, it totally depends on the Verkehrsverbund or the guard was lenient. Some still allow tickets sold on board. If the guard asked for 9€ it sounds like the passenger was offered the 9€ ticket.

 

[johncrossley]

Some local trains have machines on board, so on those trains you can definitely pay on board! But presumably that isn't the case on the train in the discussion.

 

[Welby]

If the train was a regional service, then there is currently a ticket on offer, which costs 9euros.

 

[zero]

I thought it was obvious what the 9 euros referred to.

I'm pretty sure the doors of that train said "only board with a valid ticket". But it seems like you can now (until August anyway) get on any non-IC train without paying and the penalty will only be paying 9 euros. This may be why I've been checked on basically every non-IC train in the past month whereas before I was almost never checked.

I had a surprise ticket inspection on the Freiburg (Bresigau) trams at 11pm.

Also I still haven't been checked on any IC trains except for one, which is again the opposite to my previous experience in Germany, and it's not the conductors being lazy, they're walking up and down but not checking tickets.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

A GA normally gives a 15% reduction in A and DE for a connecting journey from CH, but not on wholly domestic travel. So it maybe that whatever the OBB ticket was maybe was an attempt to get this reduction but didn't provide the validity needed as it needed to be bought in CH?
Anyway, the rules on 'buy before you board' do seem to vary by tarifverbund, as U-Bahnfreund points out. Of course, in Baden-Württemberg and Bayern you are talking about some of the most friendly parts of DE, so perhaps the conductor was just being kind to foreigners (it happens!)
By the way, I was in the same area at the weekend. I couldn't believe how full practically all the trains I saw were, including the ICE/ICs and S-Bahns: seemed like the whole of Germany is travelling at the moment! This can't just be the result of the EUR9 ticket, surely?

 

[Cloud Strife]

This can't just be the result of the EUR9 ticket, surely?

Anecdotally, the trains are absolutely packed in PL as well at the weekend. It looks like people have gone absolutely crazy with spending money and travelling, even to small local tourist destinations. I suspect the 9 Euro ticket is the same story in Germany, especially as there ae so many possibilities on the 9 Euro ticket.

 

[Feuillesmortes]

This can't just be the result of the EUR9 ticket, surely?

And the half price Interrail!

 

[dutchflyer]

Having arrived back into DE here for yet another short trip-Niedersachsen now-it really varies enormously. ON BUSes never problem. On trains-yesterday whilst visiting the old DDR/Altmark-near empty trains. Schools are still on here, so around 12.00 the usual noisy bunch of benchsitters.
This morning the metronom stopping trains to Hamburg-nearly all seats taken long before HH. It does seem its mostly the longer distance routes between major cities that get loads of people.
And yes indeed- a bit strange for me-2x heavy inspection on local trams too-but never with that also show ID as often happens still- in trains. Probably day after tomorrow (1/7) major checks if people have realised its new month.
Overcrowding-also on ICE-not being helped as so many trains are cancelled or so heavy delayed that connections are missed (me too-thats why I now sit in a station with DB-WiFi). Staff shortages everywhere

 

[Planesandtrain]

I certainly don't sell a 9 euro ticket if a passenger is traveling without. Our machines (Go Ahead Bayern) haven't had it added. No ticket on my train especially in the times where you can go to a machine and buy a monthly pass for 9 euros is an automatic 60 euro penalty. But every guard will judge situations differently. With regards to busy times from Friday afternoon onwards into Sunday evening, one can forget trying to check tickets. Half the time you can't get out of the rear cab.