The government has announced fresh regulations. You can get a immense punishment for breaking that

The July amendment of the collective transport law amazed many, although it passed unnoticed in the mainstream media. Its aim is to combat aggression and inadequate passenger behaviour more effectively. The fresh regulations importantly increase penalties for the perpetrators of specified incidents and supply greater opportunities for services to intervene.

Few people have avoided reflection or direct experience of aggression while travelling by public communications. The fresh rules are intended to bring about a change in this area, expanding the effectiveness of punishing rioters and ensuring greater order during travel.

Although the current Transport Law obliges passengers to stay calm in public transport, this has seldom been enforced due to confusion in its interpretation. The fresh government aims to improve this process by introducing clear solutions that will more effectively suppress aggressive behaviour and vandalism in collective transport.

New government announced

First of all, there is now a wider anticipation of cooperation between different services to keep order. In addition to Police, Border Guard, SOK or Military Police, they will be active in the surveillance of the situation. As a result, the consequence to the incidents will be faster and intervention will be made by the unit closest to the scene.

Secondly, there has been a crucial tightening of penalties for refusing to leave the vehicle or aggressive behaviour. Now the fines will be between 500 and 2000 PLN. A individual who does not want to leave the train at the request of the conductor will be subject to a punishment of PLN 500. The fresh rules cover situations where a passenger becomes burdensome to others or poses a danger to traffic, e.g. through drunken behaviour. The advanced limit of penalties is reserved for vandals who behave aggressively.

Thirdly, the fresh law applies to all public means of transport, covering not only trains but besides buses or trams.

Additionally, as of June, assaulting a conductor or controller is treated as an attack on an officer and may endanger to punish the prison. These changes aim to further exacerbate penalties for specified attacks and increase the safety of public transport personnel.

What precisely changed?

The fresh rules came into force in July and a differentiated approach to their compliance was already visible from the outset, especially in the case of the rules in force in rail transport. In Tri-City, there was an event on a city bus where the driver decided to halt the vehicle and refuse to proceed driving. The reason for this incidental was a passenger who refused to fasten his seat belts to his child's small bike. The passenger had difficulty following this command due to the tiny size of the bike. The conflict broke out, and despite requests, the passenger refused to leave the bus, causing another travellers to start leaving the vehicle due to delay. As a result, the driver decided to call the police to resolve the situation.

On arrival of the police, however, it turned out that they did not have the power to forcefully expel a passenger, resulting in an extended deadlock. The deficiency of a appropriate legal basis prevented action, but now, thanks to the fresh regulations, all services, including the Military Police, have the chance to intervene in the event of disobedience of an uncontested passenger on a train, bus or tram. This will facilitate the consequence to specified situations and aid keep order in public transport.