A 21-year-old man from Tarragona, Catalonia has managed to travel free by train for months thanks to a system that made him appear as ‘a bicycle’ in the eyes of the electronic ticket readers.
Renfe is suing him for his trips, including long distance journeys, which cost him nothing, and is also claiming for €2,300 euros according to the daily newspaper the Diari de Tarragona. The Police are accusing the man of fraud and computer damage.
The young man who claims not to be a computer expert, has not been revealed by Renfe. They have not yet revealed how he actually did it either. It is known however, that the young man purchased a bicycle ticket on the Internet (obligatory for them to travel by train and which has no cost) then manipulated the bar code and changed the ticket to his own name.
Between February and March this year, he bought a total of 32 tickets to go to Barcelona, Seville and Madrid, and even invited along his sister and a friend.
Tracking him down has not been very difficult, because acquiring any of the free tickets one must provide a credit card, identity card and even an email address.
The young man has admitted to the crimes, but denies committing any fraud.
