Public transport operators can ban passengers for serious misconduct

Public transport operators in Carinthia can remove passengers and impose travel bans for serious misconduct, ORF reported. The rules cover behaviour on buses and trains, including aggression, threats and suspected criminal acts.

The issue gained attention this summer after police were called to Klagenfurt Airport and a group celebrating a pre-wedding party was denied a flight to Mallorca because some of the men were heavily intoxicated. Police are also occasionally called to other forms of public transport because of passenger misconduct.

No one has recently had to leave a public bus because of excessive intoxication, according to Roland Fercher of Kärntner Linien, a public transport network. He said passengers generally behaved appropriately, including when travelling to folk festivals.

Each Kärntner Linien partner company has its own passenger rules. On Klagenfurt city buses, for example, smoking, eating ice cream and travelling bare-chested are prohibited. Passengers carrying weapons must also leave the bus.

Police may be called over threats

The situation becomes particularly serious when passengers insult or threaten other travellers or staff, said ÖBB spokesman Herbert Hofer. Travellers are expected to follow generally accepted standards of behaviour on trains. Anyone involved in aggressive or criminal conduct may be ordered to leave, and police may be called in serious cases.

ÖBB train staff receive regular training on how to handle such situations. Hofer said police would be notified even if there were only a suspicion of a criminal offence.

ÖBB can impose travel bans of up to six months for serious misconduct. If a passenger is convicted of an offence, a permanent ban may be imposed depending on the severity of the crime.