2.6 per cent passengers ride free in Germany

Berlin, Aug 19 (IANS) Some 2.6 per cent of passengers evaded tickets when taking public transport in Germany last year, a survey said on Friday.

The rate of freeloaders has not changed nationwide compared with the year before last, despite the penalty being raised from 40 to 60 euros since last July, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile in Dortmund, Hanover and Nuremberg, the rate of evaders was reportedly higher, in Berlin it even reached six per cent, according to the survey by local financial magazine "Wirtschaftswoche".

The economic loss was estimated to be 250 million euros across the country.

(1 euro = $1.13)