Inspector costs exceed fines tenfold

Monthly expenses on maintaining inspectors in Nizhny Novgorod are ten times higher than the amount of fines collected for fare evasion. This is evidenced by data provided by the Center for Transport Systems Development (TsRTS).

TsRTS employs 30 inspectors. Their average salary ranges from 45,000 to 49,000 rubles per month ($500–$544 at current rates). Thus, the monthly payroll alone costs the budget between 1.3 and 1.5 million rubles ($14,400–$16,700).

Meanwhile, the amount of fines collected is significantly lower. For example, in December 2025, 332 reports were issued: 300 for not having a ticket and 32 for using someone else«s discount card. In fact, passengers paid 134 fines totaling 154,000 rubles ($1,700). That sum is ten times less than the monthly cost of inspector salaries.

For the entire year of 2025, inspectors issued 2,600 reports. Violators paid 1,537,000 rubles ($17,100) into the budget. Interestingly, that annual fine amount is roughly equal to one month«s salary expenses.

The work of inspectors has drawn complaints from some residents. Some passengers believe that the focus should be on carriers, whose validators sometimes malfunction and who keep the interiors in poor condition. In 2025, there were four cases of passengers assaulting TsRTS employees. Police reports were filed in all these incidents.