Overview
- Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig, who on Tuesday told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung she sees good reasons to drop criminal charges for fare evasion, cast the step as part of a broader criminal law update to ease pressure on courts and prisons.
- Under Section 265a of the Criminal Code, riding without a ticket is a crime that can bring fines or up to one year in jail, and unpaid fines often lead to short prison terms known as substitute imprisonment.
- Police recorded more than 144,000 fare‑evasion cases in 2024, which supporters of reform say ties up officers, prosecutors, and judges for low‑value offenses that often involve people who are poor or homeless.
- The CDU/CSU bloc and police unions oppose any rollback, arguing that without a criminal offense ticket checks lose holding powers and honest riders could face higher fares.
- Law groups and left‑leaning parties back change, with the German Bar Association citing about €200 million a year in case and prison costs, while several cities such as Bremen and Frankfurt already skip criminal complaints and rely on a €60 surcharge as Berlin debates full removal, an administrative offense, or a narrower crime focused on bypassing barriers.