What to do in the event of an increased transport charge?
Information for students* of the University of Cologne
Please read carefully before beginning the process:
A “Penalty Fare” (also known as an Additional Fare Charge) is levied if a student has no ticket / valid ticket or if a produced ticket is illegible. Fare recovery is a measure to protect the fare of the transport operator responsible for the inspection because a student is using a service but whether payment has been made for this service cannot be checked at the time of the inspection.
The Penalty Fare is usually 60 Euros. In some cases, the Penalty Fare can be reduced to 7 Euros or cancelled (see the explanatory notes about Penalty Fares). We – the Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG – want to support you. Please note that you must always cooperate with us.
Always take action as quickly as possible in order to avoid being subject to any additional charges. The necessary information must be submitted to the relevant transport operator within 14 days of you being given the Penalty Fare slip (the 1st payment demand). The Penalty Fare provided by the transport operator, by whom you have been inspected, will provide you with further information as necessary.
So that we can support you accordingly in complying with these time limits, please complete this online form within 7 days.
We have compiled further relevant information on the VRS and NRW SemesterTicket on chip card for you here: