Yekaterinburg to fight fare dodgers with on-the-spot fines

Yekaterinburg has come up with a way to combat fare dodgers. As acting first deputy mayor for construction and public transport Rustam Galyamov said during a live broadcast on E1.RU, the problem will be solved shortly: inspectors will issue fines to fare dodgers on the spot.

He also noted that most Yekaterinburg residents pay their fares regularly:

«I can say that our inspectors» raids have shown that people generally pay their fares. There are fare dodgers, but not as many as were said and we were warned about when we switched to the conductor-free system. That is, there aren«t so many that we can directly say the city budget is missing out on something.»

We previously explained why it«s not so easy to fine a fare dodger. The inspection team must include an officer authorized to draw up a report, but to properly complete this document and collect that very 2500 ruble fine (approx. $27 at current rates), the fare dodger must provide identification. Obviously, not every fare dodger will give it — there are no fools — so inspectors need backup in the form of law enforcement officers.

Recall that for many years the fine for fare dodgers in Yekaterinburg was only 100 rubles (approx. $1 at current rates). But in 2024, deputies of the legislative assembly adopted amendments to the law, increasing the amount 25 times. The initiator of the harsher fines since the beginning of 2024 was the Yekaterinburg mayor«s office.

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