Public transport is one of the most famous things about Belgrade. How public transport is functioning is economic mystery because almost no one is paying ticket. When someone in public transport checks ticket, everyone will look at him or her like he/she is a dangerous criminal. Even though bus ticket price isn't high for European standards, 0.8 euro cents or 90 dinara is pretty high for low standard in Serbia. A lot of people are smuggling them self in public transportation and when they see control entering a bus, they run out like wild. When a control catches a passenger without a validated ticket, they can either be kind and ignore you, tell you to leave the bus on next station or they can demand passenger personal ID, usually being aggressive, rude and threatening. If passenger refuses to give them ID card, they ALWAYS threat that they will call municipal police. On next station, they will force passenger to go out of the bus and they will try to stop him to leave before municipal police arrives. If passenger tries to leave, they can't stop him because that counts as a physical attack and the passenger can sue controller.
Most common excuses for not validating ticket are:
Most common excuses for not validating ticket are:
- Validator has been blocked
- Their health is bad or they are injured, so they must sit first before they validate ticket
- That they are going only one station and there is no need to validate ticket
- They think that controller should validate their card
- Driver didn't have change so they couldn't buy a ticket
- That they aren't from Belgrade, so they don't know how the sistem works
Fines for not validating a ticket is 2000 dinara and with that fine you get a one-day-ticket, but it's a bit expensive. If you don't pay the ticket within one week, fine is 6000 dinara and until you pay your fine, you can't buy a personalized ticket. Personalized tickets contain your picture and there are numerous packages like student, unemployed people, pensioners, etc. If you are a tourist, you can buy a one, three or five day ticket which grants you access to all public transportation in the city.
Foreigners should probably be aware of violent police officers and you should recommend them to carry some kind of shield with themselves, since they don't have a card. And, don't forget the famous phrase: '' I'm only 15, i don't need a card'', even though you're 20 and a student.
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