The Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe is a great injustice that puts the idea of “equality before the law” into crisis. While some are able to pay their fines, others have to go to jail and are thus also torn from their social contexts. Unequal punishment thereby exacerbates inequality. An additional problem with EFS is its automatic nature: Without any further court ruling, the sentence imposed is automatically transformed from daily rates to be paid into a prison term to be served. The money spent on the prison system could also be used to finance much more sensible measures, such as issuing more social tickets for public transport. A day in prison costs the state between €120 and €150. For fare evasion, 20 to 40 daily fines are imposed. This results in costs of between €2,400 and €6,000 per ESF, while the original financial damage (loss of revenue) for the transport companies amounts to less than €10.
