In regard to your message sent to the Bucharest Transport Company (STB SA), registered with no. 69020, we inform you the following:
Before boarding the means of public transport, travelers must make sure that they are in possession of a travel ticket corresponding to the means of transport they are going to travel with and at the fare valid for that period, or they must prove that they are entitled to free travel, and at the request of the representatives of the control body STB SA, to present it for verification.
Traveling without a valid ticket is considered a contravention, and according to the regulation of the local public transport community service for Bucharest and Ilfov county, the fine set for this offense is between 300 and 500 lei. In this case, passengers may pay on the spot a ticket with special rate – surcharge, with a value of 80 lei and the ticket inspectors will not write a report on the offense. We mention that the report on the offence can be drawn up by the ticket inspectors only if you present them your ID.
At this moment, we do not have legal provisions that have as object the granting of free transport in public transport.
According to the Government Decision no. 337/2022, foreign citizens or stateless persons in special situations, coming from the armed conflict area with Ukraine, benefit from free of charge for all trips made with railway, naval and road transport operators, the travel cards being issued and settled on the basis of identity documents, temporary identity documents, residence documents or permits issued by the romanian authorities.
Therefore, the Government Decision no. 337/2022 does not have any express provisions that are applicable in the local public transport carried out by STB S.A.
Control teams are processed regarding their obligations in relation to the traveling public, namely during the control activity, to adopt a firm, but polite attitude based on respect, to give accurate information to the requests made by the passengers.
Following the checks carried out on the transport card (MLP) series 26468926, it was found that at the time of the check on May 21st, 2022, line 331, there was no balance for the payment of the trip. The transport card appears only verified by the control team.
Regarding what you reported: “I had my passport with me, I also had a ticket with me, which was not punched …”, information was also collected from the control team. According to the ascertaining agent's statement, you did not prove that you hold a valid travel document and you did not even present a supporting document attesting to the gratuity (mention also on the back of the surcharge card), which is why the ascertaining agent issued the surcharge series 1208450.
The payment of travel tickets through the 24Pay application is made from the traveler's personal phone, before boarding the public transport, after generating the QR code, to be presented to the control agent for verification.
For the recovery of the amount paid when purchasing the SURCHARGE travel title, a ticket that allows the use of all means of public surface transport in the Bucharest-Ilfov region, only on the day it was issued, until 24:00, there is the possibility to address you the court of law.