Switzerland uses the honor system in their public transit and it works.
There are random checks on small routes and long distance routes have a conductor checking tickets.
About 800 are caught each day with invalid tickets which is a very small percentage of total travelers. There are about 1 million travelers on rail per day. The fine is 'only' 100 CHF for the first offence which is very small if you compare it to ticket prices. However subsequent offences have higher fines and you are added to a database which you will stay in for at least 2 years.
About half a million out of almost 8 million residence have a year pass for the entire rail system (General-Abonnemente). Over 2 million have a year pass for half-price tickets (Halbtax-Abonnemente) so any ticket they buy is half price.
It is very nice to just walk in and out of trains, buses, boats without having to go through turnstiles etc.
> Switzerland uses the honor system in their public transit and it works.
We use both an honor system and an RFID card system here in Perth, Australia.
There are often transit guards checking cash tickets and whether you have "tagged on" your RFID card. The fine for not having a ticket/an invalid ticket is AUD$150 (a three-zone ticket (~20km) is about $4.60, for comparison).
You can get checked on a train, (very rarely) on a bus (as the driver watches you tag on), and often at the exit to a station. Most of the bigger stations have gates ("turnstiles") that require you to tag on to get to the platforms.
There are random checks on small routes and long distance routes have a conductor checking tickets.
About 800 are caught each day with invalid tickets which is a very small percentage of total travelers. There are about 1 million travelers on rail per day. The fine is 'only' 100 CHF for the first offence which is very small if you compare it to ticket prices. However subsequent offences have higher fines and you are added to a database which you will stay in for at least 2 years.
About half a million out of almost 8 million residence have a year pass for the entire rail system (General-Abonnemente). Over 2 million have a year pass for half-price tickets (Halbtax-Abonnemente) so any ticket they buy is half price.
It is very nice to just walk in and out of trains, buses, boats without having to go through turnstiles etc.