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Complaints have been received against a bus driver on line 200 between Mödling and Baden. The driver refused to allow two students to travel even though they had a ticket on their mobile phones. However, tickets are only valid in printed form.
These events occurred on October 16 and 23, according to what was reported by the newspaper “Hiot”. In both cases, the students wanted to take the bus on line 200, which runs between Biedermannsdorf (Modling district) and Eberichsdorf (Baden district). As is usual with regional buses, the bus driver checks tickets for each passenger.
Both students showed the tickets in PDF format on their smartphones. The bus driver on the line in question then refused to take the youths with him, the Eastern Region Transport Association (VOR) as the line operator confirmed the incidents to noe.ORF.at.
According to the VOR, the bus driver acted according to the rules. Because the students received the tickets in PDF format on their smartphones — not printed — they were not valid. Digital PDF tickets do not have a security feature and are therefore not tamper-proof.
“Unfortunately, we cannot know if one person can buy a ticket and then send it to ten other people. Tickets are not personal. Such cases in which counterfeits are presented happen from time to time and we have to Be careful.
VOR regrets the approach
Huemer says PDF tickets are available in the VOR online store and contain a note saying they are only valid in printed form. In order to carry a valid ticket on your smartphone, you must outright purchase a mobile ticket. This also has a safety advantage.
However, as bus operators, we regret the actions of the bus driver. In such cases, there is room for discretion and we always try to act in a customer-oriented manner – especially when it comes to young people and children. We will talk to the affected bus driver to avoid such incidents in the future.
