Penalty fares and application

The discovery of a ticketing irregularity requires the inspector either to issue a penalty fare, and receive and receipt the fine, or to proceed with the identification of the perpetrator with the objective of his eventual prosecution. Some inspectors may consider any special mitigating circumstances, and seek a fare adjustment instead, but that process is open to abuse and reduces the deterrent effect of the penalty.

The charge levied as a penalty for travel irregularities or payment evasion is usually a fixed amount. The penalty value is generally set at a sufficient amount to deter evasion and encourage compliance with the authorized fares and conditions of travel for the ticket products being used. Typically it may be ten times the maximum single ride fare on the transport system, although many variants of this ratio exist.

In principal, the value of the fine multiplied by the risk of detection should always be significantly greater than the correct fare. Thus, if fare evasion detection rates are low, the penalty should be correspondingly high. The penalty fares and their conditions of issue are usually embodied within the conditions of carriage applicable to all passengers and published by the operator.

Some systems also require the prompt removal of passengers from the vehicle if they are uncooperative when being questioned concerning their travel documents.