Fake bus tickets trigger assaults on drivers, Helsinki region operator says

Bus drivers in the Helsinki region encounter fake mobile tickets almost daily, and challenging passengers over them can lead to threats or violence, Yle reported. Christian Forsman, a driver for Koiviston Auto who works on services operated by Helsinki Regional Transport (HSL), said he has seen the problem repeatedly.

Forsman, who has driven buses in the region for a year and a half, said fake tickets sometimes appear several times in a single day. In his experience, users range from children as young as seven to adults in their fifties.

Drivers can struggle to distinguish a convincing fake from a valid ticket, especially because passengers show them quickly. Tickets displayed in the HSL app cannot yet be validated by scanning them at the card reader. Forsman said some drivers have learned to spot fakes but declined to describe how, citing safety concerns.

In one case, a passenger showed a video of a genuine ticket that had already expired. The video ended unexpectedly, revealing the deception, Forsman said. He said some encounters end calmly, but others become confrontational when a passenger disputes the driver’s decision to refuse boarding.

Last spring, a passenger attacked Forsman, spat in his face and kicked and damaged the bus after he challenged a fake ticket, he said. Several of his colleagues have also experienced physical violence linked to fake tickets.

HSL transport planner Timo Vahde confirmed that drivers have faced situations like those described by Forsman. Security staff received about 1,300 calls from drivers about disturbances last year. Around 20 percent concerned disturbances related to travelling without a ticket, but incidents involving fake tickets are not tracked separately.

HSL has increased the number of ticket inspectors on routes where passengers have been found travelling without valid tickets. Vahde said the overall number of security calls was limited compared with about 20,000 bus departures on a typical weekday. Security staff receive an average of three to four calls a day.

Vahde said disturbances on public transport have risen slightly in recent years, but stressed that travel on HSL services remains very safe for passengers and drivers.