Indian Couple Fined 13,000 Rupees in Strasbourg for Not Validating a 300-Rupee Tram Ticket

An Indian travel content creator couple have paid the price for not knowing the rules on their first trip to Europe. In Strasbourg, France, Vancha and Saksham were fined 13,000 rupees for failing to validate a tram ticket that cost just 300 rupees.

In a recent Instagram video warning travellers to Europe, Vancha said they had just arrived in Strasbourg. To reach their Airbnb they only had to take one tram. They bought tickets from a vending machine where, she said, there were no instructions.

Vancha said the ticket had to be validated by punching a card at a kiosk, which they did not know. So they boarded the tram without validation. Two stations later, she said, an inspector came and fined them. They pleaded repeatedly that they were tourists, that they had all their bookings, and that they simply did not know a card had to be punched.

She added that there was no staff member there to help them and the inspector would not listen. In Vancha's words, the inspectors do not care whether you are a tourist or whether your intentions are good.

After the video spread on social media, users shared their own views. One wrote not to worry, that such things are part of travel experience, and that they were still learning after 15 years of travelling. Another said inspectors receive commission on the fines they collect each day, which is why they listen to no pleas. A third wrote that they had faced the same fine despite holding a monthly subscription.