What fines will be imposed for using public transport without paying?

“Yes, there is such an initiative regarding fines for not paying while using public transport. The enforcement of fines will take place once it is approved by the National Assembly,” stated the mayor’s spokesperson Haik Kostanyan during a press briefing today, March 14.

“There will be several mechanisms, and the amount of the fine will vary. In one case, it will concern those who do not pay at all, in another case it will apply to those using someone else’s ticket product, and in one case, it will pertain to those who actually have an annual package but do not pay for any transport,” said Kostanyan.

According to him, the timelines for enforcing the fines are not yet clear. A package of legislative proposals has been presented for public discussion, which aims to impose administrative liability on citizens for using public transport without paying the fare or traveling in the place of those who have privileges.

According to the initiative, passengers using community transport buses, trolleybuses, or metro services without paying or validating their payment carriers will face fines of 15,000 drams. In cases where someone travels instead of a person with benefits, the fine will be 18,000 drams.

“Our goal is not to penalize people and bring them into the legal sphere, but rather to emphasize that if a service is provided, it must be paid for,” he noted.

Haik Kostanyan stated that as of March 10, approximately 2.5 billion drams have been collected from ticket products sold, with over 210,000 of them being package tickets, of which 71% are basic packages and 29% are privileges.