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Got completely hosed on a bus ticket in Rome and it taught me a hard lesson
I was in Rome about two years ago, trying to save a few euros. I bought a single bus ticket from a little tabacchi shop near the Termini station. The guy behind the counter sold it to me for 2 euros, which seemed fine. I validated it on the bus, no problem. Two stops later, a team of plainclothes ticket inspectors got on. They checked my ticket, then told me it was a fake. A complete counterfeit. I argued, but they didn't care. The fine was 100 euros on the spot, cash only. I was stuck in the middle of a route I didn't know, with a bunch of angry tourists staring at me. I had to pay it. Now I never, ever buy transit tickets from a random corner store in a big city, no matter how official it looks. I go straight to the machine at the station or use an official app. Has anyone else gotten burned by a fake ticket like that, or am I just the unluckiest guy?
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xenah126mo ago
Ugh, that's brutal. Same thing happened to my cousin in Paris. Those little shops can be total traps. Always use the official ticket machines now, no exceptions. They're usually bright red or green and have the transit logo on them. The apps are even better because the ticket is right on your phone. Saves you the headache and the huge fine.
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jesse2906mo ago
Yeah, those little shops are the worst.
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casey8435mo ago
100 euros seems steep but honestly you probably could have talked them down. @xenah12, those Paris inspectors are worse I heard, they'll take half the fine if you cry enough. I buy from tabacchi all the time in Italy and never had issues. Maybe you just got the one bad shop near Termini, that area is full of scams anyway. Half the time the machine at the station is broken or only takes coins, so what are you supposed to do then.
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