Berlin Ticket Inspectors at night

Does anybody know if ticket inspectors work the U- and S-Bahn lines in the evening? I used to buy a monthly rail card but a change in job means I no longer require one. On the occasions when I do use the trains I always buy my ticket but I've realised I've never ever been asked to show my ticket at night time, the whole time I've been in Berlin! Has anybody ever been busted for not having a ticket after say 9pm?

Ticket checkers work all hours of the day, on all lines... Buy A Ticket or pay the Fine.

I have never been busted after 21:00 coz I always have a ticket. But I have been checked several times, albeit on a lower frequency than during the day. mostly on the u-bahn.

Gill, it is really really rare. The ticket checkers as a rule don't work after 10pm (according to the checkers themselves, not rumors or online forums) but some of them do work very early in the commuting morning, so if a train line starts getting people going to work at four or so, you stand a risk of getting checked then. I have ridden a LOT of trains in Berlin at all hours of the day and night, and been checked only a bazillion times--but never at night. For that matter, I have never been checked past say, 7:30, and that was on a busy inner city line. After 8:30 or so I don't bother buying a ticket, although it can be a bit hairy if you need to go through Alexanderplatz or some other BVG hotspot.

You will hear the occasional horror story of someone getting checked at 3 in the morning on a tram somewhere deep in BFE, but generally speaking, there is no real need to buy a ticket if you're taking the train home at midnight.

Now will follow about thirty comments from geniuses like Darkknight here, frothing at the mouth about the moral implications of not buying a ticket, finger wagging and blathering on about how you're basically a criminal, that riding the train without paying is essentially the same as stealing a little old lady's handbag, never to cross at the red, etcetera etcetera yawnzzzzzzzzzz.

last week i was checked on the U1 between 22:30 and 23:00. some time last month I was checked on U8 close to after 23:00. So the do check but as I said not as much as during the day.

deccie, that's nuts. I only ever meet people who have stories like this online. I mean I believe you of course, but it seems so strange that none of the real life people I've ever met have had this experience. The U1 and U2, though, are definitely lines that I don't ride as much at night, and that are often packed to the gills around the times you're talking about.

I also find it hilarious that the moral police have taken out their frustration at being stymied from making their silly statements here by giving my previous post negative points, bring it on you poor suckers.

I've never been checked after about 5pm, ever, anywhere in Berlin. And I travel through Alexplatz to get to and from work. And I use the U6, U2 and M10 frequently - however, I do get checked all the time on these lines earlier in the day. Having a monthly ticket means I don't have to worry about it though.

I have a lot of German friends who use public transport at night and never buy tickets, and never get busted. I don't judge them, I just think that if you get caught, you pay the fine. Simple as that.

there certainly seem to be more ticket checks in Berlin than here in Munich

I've been checked late in the night but only a couple of times. A friend got fined around 3 am because he slept in the Sbahn and drove ONE station into the C area, that was mean.

@dessa

i don't get the -5 points at all. you gave a straight-up post, that sums it up nicely.

no they don't check tickets late... unless it's the one time you're traveling without a tickets. the germans know, man.

@ everyone

i also have trouble telling a friend to not buy a ticket, because yeah - it's always the one time you forget your <insert relevant piece of paper here>, you get nailed for it. And compassion?? Forget it.

@Dessa - out of interest, CAN you afford the tickets relatively easy and just opt not to bother, or is cash a little tight for you?

Personally I can't imagine ever not buying a ticket - perhaps I've been brainwashed. Or perhaps it's because I have loads, and I mean SHITLOADS of money...

Jimbo, haha, noooooooooooo I cannot afford the money. I mean, I'm not going to find myself on the street if I have to pay a ticket, but €42 doesn't grow on trees either. And if I were rich, I'd pay every time... the main draw of not paying is not to smash the system but because dang, I really could use that €2,10. Twice.

I also don't want to say that people who pay are brainwashed. I know that not paying is not the right thing to do, although I don't feel particularly guilty about it.

I don't pay at night because I am almost positive I will not be caught (but if I'm with you, I wouldn't dream of advising you against paying--I admire people whose scruples are stronger than mine, as long as they don't preach to me about it). This is a risk I don't take during the daylight hours because I have been checked a zillion times, and I had to get ticketed twice before I learned my lesson.

Tell you what, I will keep you posted. The first time I get checked at night will be the last time I ride without paying.

I got to agree with Dessa. I have never been checked after 7pm on the S Bahn or on the U Bahn

Looks like all these stories of checks after 3am or so are figments of one's imagination. Of course, I have a monthly ticket and my wife and me can share it after 8pm on the weekdays and throughout during the weekends. However, I am not one to condemn people for not buying their tickets. My opinion is that if you are travelling after 7pm, more often than not, you will not be checked. However, never say never though in my two years in Berlin, I have never been checked after 7pm. A few times ,my monthly ticket was with my wife and I had to buy those einzeltickets when going for my German lessons and I was never checked. It made me think if it was worth it to buy those tickets.

It might be the last time you do a few things for a while. BVG files criminal charges against three-time offenders. And they always stick. So be careful out there.

almost right, but still wrong:

http://www.taz.de/regional/berlin/aktuell/artikel/1/schwarzfahrt-in-den-knast/

they have to catch you 3 times in a three months period.

btw, i almost always pay except on those nights when i'm too sloshed to care.