Cracow. The teenager had no ID, the police were waiting for him on the loop

17-year-old Michał returned by bus from school. He had a monthly ticket, but during the inspection it turned out that there was no ID. The controller refused to issue a request for payment to the data provided, and the payment made on the bus “did not pass”. Michał and his father had to go to a loop 11 kilometers away from their stop, where a police patrol called by controllers was waiting, who confirmed the boy's details.

The situation, which Michał's father described in an interview with “Gazeta Wyborcza”, happened on March 6 in the afternoon. Mr. Tomasz recalls that he received a disturbing phone from his son – the boy asked to transfer 143 zlotys “quickly”. It was not, as the man initially suspected, an attempt to fraud. Michał had to pay a penalty for driving with a reduced ticket without a school ID.

Since the teenager did not have an identity document, the controller refused to issue a request for payment. She also did not want to get off with the boy at his stop at the Wielicki junction. There were only two possibilities: either the penalty is paid on the bus, or Michał with controllers goes to the Czerwone Maki loop – about 10 kilometers from the Wielicki junction – and there a police patrol confirms his data and a call is written.

The payment has not passed

The boy's father got on the bus and there – according to “Wyborcza” – he was to try to pay for the penalty. There was also an obstacle here.

– I paid the requested amount by card, but the auditors found that the payment had not passed and told me to make it again. I did not agree because my bank's application indicated that the money was collected from the account. I showed them confirmation on the phone. The controllers insisted on their own, so I asked to issue a credited mandate to later explain the whole situation later. They stated that they could not do it on the bus, only at the final stop, where the police were called to confirm my son's identity – reports Mr. Tomasz.

Ultimately, the father and son got off on the Red Maki loop. There, policemen called by the controllers confirmed the boy's details and a request for payment was issued for PLN 203.

“Kidnapping of a minor” or “behavior consistent with the regulations”?

According to Tomasz, the controllers behaved incorrectly, and the whole situation “looked like a kidnapping of a minor.” We asked the ZTP press office to explain the procedures that were guided by people checking tickets.

Sebastian Kowal, spokesman for ZTP Kraków, emphasized that “the behavior of the controller was in line with applicable legal regulations.” He also confirmed that the teenager was traveling without documents, which prevented the payment of a request, and his father had to refuse to pay the penalty remotely with Blik for security reasons. The spokesman explained that, according to the ticket control regulations in public transport vehicles in Krakow, controllers can get off at the bus stop together with the passenger, but only under certain conditions.

– At the request of the passenger reporting 'the need to leave the vehicle', the inspection should be completed at the stop, in a safe place for the controller, provided that this passenger previously shows the auditor to the identity document, and his behavior does not bear the signs of aggression and this will not disorganize the work of the control team. According to the above provision, the controller without showing an identity document could not be accepted to the passenger's request and therefore informed him about the possibility of paying the amount due only in the vehicle – explains Kowal.

Payment should come back

And what about the payment that was to be downloaded from Mr. Tomasz's account, but was not registered by the controller terminal? – Unfortunately, due to reasons beyond the controller, a device used to verify tickets and charge additional fees has been temporarily failure and did not generate the payment confirmation, nor did the logs send to the main server – admits the spokesman. According to him, the controller tried to verify the information provided by Mr. Tomasz about collecting money from the account, but the dispatcher she called to see did not see the payment.

– In this state of affairs, the controller was recommended to generate a new payment (…) with a simultaneous instruction of the passenger that in the event of confirmation of the two -time collection of payments for the same call “duplicate” the payment will return to the passenger's bank account – reports the ZTP representative. Mr. Tomasz did not agree to the re -payment and decided to go with his son to the loop. There he received a request for payment, and the controller was to inform him about the possibility of making a complaint.

The time to appeal is over

Ticket control regulations provides that a passenger who, within seven days of issuing the call, shows a personal season ticket or document entitling to a reduced journey and will pay a handling fee, may receive a refund of an additional fee or redemption of the call. Which means that the amount collected from Mr. Tomasz's account on the bus should be returned and the summons are discontinued – provided that Michał's ID card during the week is delivered to ZTP.

§7 Reimbursement for transport 1. The passenger may obtain a refund for transport and additional fee or discontinuation of the request for payment, provided that the handling fee is paid and presenting within 7 days from the date of issuing the request (in the place indicated on the reverberation of the issued name confirmation of payment or request for payment): 1) a valid personal periodic ticket, purchased before control; 2) an important integrated PR/KMŁ ticket – public transport in Krakow purchased before control; 3) a valid document confirming the right to free or reduced passage, another proof confirming the payment for the trip before control.

Ordinance No. 98/2024 Director of the Public Transport Board in Krakow of October 8, 2024.

However, as we read in “Wyborcza”, Mr. Tomasz until the publication of the article on April 17 this year. He didn't recover money. – Until March 26, ZTP claimed that this mandate I paid on the spot was not there. It wasn't until March 26 that they decided that it was, but then it was too late to appeal, because it was 7 days. Earlier, a credited mandate was canceled to us, from which we could appeal – reports the man. He also claims that information about the possibility of appealing against the call was not provided to him during the inspection.

– The passenger's situation of March 6 was reported for verification, the passenger was informed about the date of 7 days to show the ID card. After verifying that the first call was effectively paid, the second call was canceled – said Sebastian Kowal.

When asked if the terminal error means that the passenger has no chance of recovering the “penalty” paid, the ZTP spokesman said that “in such situations ZTP allows the passenger to submit a complaint.” – At the same time, we point out that the passenger was informed about the date of 7 days from the date of travel to showing an important ID. This deadline results from the Act and the submission of a complaint does not suspend its running – said Kowal. He also noted that “solutions were introduced to avoid similar situations in the future.”

Complaint about the controller

In connection with this situation, Mr. Tomasz sent a complaint to ZTP, demanding the punishment of a controller and compensation for the harm suffered. Sebastian Kowal said that “in the opinion of ZTP, the operation of ZTP employees, including ID 157 controllers, in the present case was correct, in accordance with applicable provisions of universal and local law, conscientious and transparent, and the irregularities found resulting from reasons beyond their control, caused by the error of the system.” He also emphasized that the actions of the controller were neither an unauthorized stop, and even more so kidnapping a teenager, as his father claims.

– Because of this, we did not attract the abovementioned Controllers or other subordinate to the Director of ZTP employees for cleaning or disciplinary or other liability provided for in the law – concluded Kowal.

We asked Sebastian Kowal, from where it is known – in a situation where the fee receives on a bus or tram, without showing a document – who paid it and who therefore can apply for a refund by a complaint.

– In the case of a passenger payment of March 6 after comparing confirmation of payment sent in the complaint with logs from the payment operator, we confirmed that the payment using a payment card with the number presented in the complaint passed successfully – answered ZTP spokesman.

We asked the Public Transport Authority in Krakow whether the number of issues issued to pay and charged fees for a ticket without a ticket or documents has an impact on controllers' earnings. Sebastian Kowal said that this is not the case.