More U-Bahn ticket inspectors about recently - Munich

I do pay my tickets of course, but I'm getting pretty annoyed about the ticket inspectors popping up all over the U Bahn of late. Not least because the weather has been so good and I've not been wearing a coat, so I dislike having to rummage through my bag to retrieve my ticket every time. I think once a week is a bit excessive given the fact I have lived here since June and have never been checked until this last month!

I hope that's the worst thing that happens to you all year. I was checked late in March for the first time this year and again two weeks ago. My tip: Take a good look at the inspector's ID before you show yours. Tit for tat.

Hadnt noticed much of a pattern but they were indeed checking again en masse at the top of the stairs of the U5 at Hautbahnhof at the exit for Bayerstrasse/ Göthestr.

It seems a bit of a waste of resources as regular commuters are most likely to be on the go in the morning and these customers would all have monthly/ yearly tickets. You rarely see anyone getting caught despite 100s if not 1000s being checked in the morning.

I travel on the U-Bahn everyday TheresienStr to Neuperlach Zentrum and back plus other journeys and I have not had my ticket checked at all this year yet. Before Christmas it seemed to average about once a month.

I guess it's just a time and a place thing.

Would you prefer it if they installed barriers so that you needed your ticket every time you entered and exited the system? Or maybe you'd prefer no checks at all, with a corresponding rise in ticket prices to cover the increased number of fare-dodgers?

Yes I WOULD prefer barriers actually! Since I buy my tickets each time and have them out there and then anyway.

Hmm, it was only an innocent question to make conversation you know, no need to randomly attack me for it

Well be grateful you only have to do it occassionally, as STB points out, would you really want ticket barriers everywhere, a la UK? It's good to be 'trusted' and like SB, I make a point of insisting I see their card too

It's also fun to listen to the complaints of those 'caught'...

*Edit: opps - you replied before I hit post!

Actually, I would prefer the barriers (like we have in London) rather than being constantly harassed by inspectors. I have occasionally forgotten my ticket, or forgotten to buy a new one and then been caught... with barriers I would have no way of accidentally travelling without a valid ticket/card!

I hate barriers. They make it harder to transport stuff with public transportation. And on crutches they're a nightmare.

If you have barriers then you also need a member of staff standing there to deal with any problems. Take the number of stations in the network, multiply by the number of exits, multiply by the number of workers needed to cover a 140-hour-week operation, multiply by the cost of employing said workers, add on the cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining the barriers, divide by the number of tickets sold in a year and hey presto, you've successfully calculated the increase in ticket prices that installing barriers would result in.

Kindly define "constantly" and "harassed". Asking for your ticket is not harassment, neither is fining you for not having one, no matter what your excuse is. Constantly, in my books, is on just about every trip. Does this really happen to you?

How would barriers work with the many different tickets offered on the MVV system?

EDIT: Thank STB, that was a good start.

Barriers are a nightmare, especially when carrying luggage or shopping

I really don't think it's that big a deal to show your ticket to an inspector when asked! Put it in a front pocket of your bag or your pocket!!

Although there are barriers in the UK, there are still ticket inspectors, who check around the same frequency as the U-Bahn. It's hardly being hassled!!! I've always found them very friendly.

If a few more checks means that the price stays the same not extortionate like the UK, then I'm happy to show my ticket to five inspectors a day!

there aren't any barriers on the tyne & wear metro (newcastle), they were removed after the kings cross fire

Eeh, of course, the most powerful argument against them -- they make it hard to escape should the need arise.

If you have luggage or a pram or are disabled there are always wider turnstiles (at least 1) to go through in the London Underground.