by EH
A holiday trip turned into a heated confrontation for a family of tourists from Ireland, who described their experience with bus ticket inspectors in an email to our magazine. The incident, they say, cast a shadow over their visit to Trieste and has left them with a lasting negative impression of Italy.
The account, sent in an email to our magazine, detailed how a mother and daughter—part of a larger group visiting the city—were stopped by inspectors as they exited a city bus. Although they had purchased valid tickets and provided a receipt to confirm the purchase, they were fined €70 each for failing to validate the tickets onboard.
Trieste’s public transportation system requires that tickets be both purchased in advance and validated upon boarding.
Validation machines are located near bus entrances and require passengers to insert or scan tickets to register the ride. Failure to validate a ticket renders it invalid, regardless of whether it was paid for.
The tourists said they found the machines confusing and were unsure whether their validation attempts had succeeded. In the letter, the mother wrote that a panel on the machine made it unclear where to hold the ticket. “We were told after,” she wrote, “that you have to hold the ticket under the machine to validate it.” She also noted that during their three days of travel in the city, she did not observe other passengers using the machines.
According to the letter, tensions escalated during the inspection. The mother and daughter were reportedly the only two members of their group stopped. When they attempted to explain the situation, a second inspector allegedly arrived and began raising his voice, calling them “thieves” and warning that police could be called. The mother said he told her she was setting a poor example for her daughter and that they could face fines of up to €500.
The tourists described the situation as intimidating, saying they were eventually surrounded by several officials—some in different uniforms—who they said showed little interest in their explanation. The standoff concluded after the mother and daughter agreed to pay the total fine of €140, along with €2.60 in administrative fees.
Trieste Trasporti, the city’s public transit authority, has not issued a statement on the specific case. However, standard procedure grants inspectors discretion to issue fines when tickets are not validated, even if purchased in advance. According to city regulations, all riders are responsible for understanding and following the fare rules. Not being aware of them does not exempt passengers from penalties.
Trieste is one of several Italian cities that operate on a system requiring pre-purchased and validated fares, a policy designed to streamline boarding and reduce fare evasion. While the system is well-known to locals, visitors unfamiliar with the process may encounter difficulties without clear signage or guidance.
