Hi, I got a fine for traveling on the night train.

I Honestly did not know that you needed a special ticket for travelling on the NX trains. I have Gleis 7 and my only concern was that it would not be valid as it was 2:00 am when I jumped on the train, so I bought a normal ticket which costs 5.10. ( I spent like 10 minutes afterwards trying to find this night fare option)

Is there anyway to get this ticket overturned? Has anyone successfully done it?
How do I properly contest this ticket?

Does this has any impact on your record with immigration and your working permit? I Ask this as it seems that swiss tend to keep track of everything.

I obviously did not intended to evade this night charge as I bought even a ticket in case I was not on "right" terms with the Gleis 7. Furthermore the ticket is 10 rappen more expensive, so you can pretty much infer it was a real mistake.

Any help would be appreciated, I just want to know my options (if there are any) to avoid the penalty.

Thanks

Call the given number after sending an email to the address found on your notice ( best if after 24 hrs for them to update the database ). They speak English, and if you have good grounds as I did, they'll bring it down from CHF80/- to CHF30/- and a Giro slip will arrive soon within 7 days for payment to be made.

The strike against your name will remain though.

Good luck.

( In my case, it was unknowingly bringing home a temporarily incapacitated friend's bike onboard without a ticket for it ).

SBB fines

I think it's part of your initiation to Switzerland - to get fined the first time and then decide that you need to read a million transport rules to make sure it never happens again...

If it helps any, I got picked up within three weeks of arriving, one stop outside my 'zone'...with a baby, stroller and everything...I just paid the fine and racked it up to 'experience'...

Zürich is a fine city.

But not quite as fine as Singapore

as swisspea said not much can be done.
i read this thread when i first came here and it has been useful (it's a bit old but still worth a read)

I think the following thread discusses this and related issues at length:
DON'T buy a rail ticket (if you're not 100% sure of the rules)

EDIT: Swissotter beat me to it! Anyway, this post and the ones following it are more specifically about your problem.

I got caught once without a ticket when I was having a really bad day when I forgot to punch my ticket. I didn't want to give my name and address, but I only had 60 CHF in my purse. They reduced the fine from 80 to 60 CHF and that was it.

In the UK it is a a criminal offense to travel without a ticket My ex-colleague ended up in court and got a criminal record when she didn't have the correct ticket. I don't think it is a criminal offense here, but I still wouldn't want my address taken.

It is here if SBB opts to report the 3rd time offender on record. The notice on the fine clearly states so.

Usually SBB does not waive the fine but through its "Fair Trading Policy", it analyses and reduces the fine, investigates the circumstances of the 3rd time offender before finally reporting it to the Police for possible criminal investigation.

i'm surprised you got away with paying only CHF60...did you have to give your name + address in the end?

No I didn't give my name and address. Now I try always carry cash just in case I forget again.

It is really annoying when you need to park a pram and then go to the front of the bus to validate the ticket. Everyone gets on the bus and just stands there instead of sitting and I can't get back to the pram without asking at least 4 people to move.

I know the feeling. I only travel with public transit and the majority of time I have my stroller with me. The crowded bus and the click ticket just don't mix. Even worse when the ticket machine is broke! Why are people always so oblivious to stroller parents? I love the seat where I can park my stroller and sit, and most parents I see with a stroller do the same. Lots of people decide to take up that seat so one time I was talking to my Husband and said a little loud, "Does she not notice I have a stroller and are pregnant? Some people are oblivious." A minute later she moved to one of the other million empty seats.

A bus driver told me that an accident happened in Zug recently where a heavily pregnant woman was holding her pram from the forward facing seat and the bus broke heavily. The bar went into her stomach.

The safest place for the stroller to be is rearward facing in the stroller/wheelchair area with you standing holding the stroller with your back against the support. The number of people that I find standing in that area that won't move amazes me. I have given up asking them where is their invisible stroller of wheelchair because of abuse and the old insult of being called a foreigner. Calling them uneducated in German after they insult me seems to really get to them too

Wow, and I would have thought sitting there would be pretty safe! Hope her baby was okay. I guess you can't really win when you have a stroller.

At least in Zurich, I've only seen very considerate people assisting adults with a pram / stroller. In fact, whenever possible, I try to assist them ( if someone else has not already beaten me to it ) and think of it as a good deed for the day.

I think it is made easier when one holds a monthly pass ( perhaps equivalent to the Zuger Pass ) where validation via a machine onboard the bus is not required.

Just my 2 rappen.

Yes, I travelled once on a two-stop local service with a bike and heavy baggage to Lausanne at 9PM. I was in a rush, my bike pass had run out a month earlier and although I had a GA in 1st Class for the previous 4 years they wouldn't let the bike misdemeanour go even though I was planning to pay in Lausanne (I would have paid on the ICN to Zuerich anyway).

I was very surprised that they busted me for it. When a little common-sense would have done. It still rankles with me as unforgiveable...

In my case, the ticket inspector was very strict and despite my explanation that the "female" bike wasn't mine and merely bringing it back to its owner ( of very low income ), he laughed and suggested I get compensated by the owner.

The appeal process was much more understanding and reduced the fine immediately after hearing the 3 grounds I pleaded upon.

In defence of the transport companies: It's not their problem if we're in a rush, don't know what ticket to buy, have forgotten our discount card, or whatever. They can't be expected to organise our lives for us. And I'd like to see a supermarket that lets people walk through the checkout with a basket full of goods 'because I left home in a hurry and left my wallet on the sideboard'.

On the other hand, the information concerning the night network, in Zurich at least, is a bit crap, even in German. Sure, every train is marked on the board with 'mit Zuschlag' (with surcharge), but if you don't know where to get your Zuschlag from, you're buggered. And even if you do find the right page on the fancy little screen, you've got about six different surcharges to choose from (the one you probably want, incidentally, is the Zurich Nachtnetz supplementary ticket... oh, and it's a good idea to pick it up at the start of your evening, because the queues at quarter to three in the morning can be horrendous)

To the OP: You have my sympathy - I don't think any of us has never made a mistake on public transport here - but you were in the wrong, and simply have to pay up.

Lesson learnt for next time...

are you the brother/sister of a certain c_dude ? ...

@Dog's dinner,

You seem to come out with standard stuff such that you feel the need to place your points in italics as though you were some world authority on the subject and none-else had considered those points before.