2025 Georgia Codes – Page 182

(a) A person who commits or attempts to commit any of the following acts in a public transit bus, a rapid rail
car, or a rapid rail station or intermodal bus station shall be guilty of a misdemeanor:
(1) Spits, defecates, or urinates;
(2) Discards litter, except into receptacles designated for that purpose;
(3) Smokes tobacco in any form;
(4) Consumes food or beverage or possesses any open food or beverage container, provided that this para-
graph shall not apply to resealable beverages in resealable plastic containers, to an operator of a public tran-
sit bus at an authorized layover point, or to a person providing food or beverage to any child under age five;
provided, further, that nothing in this paragraph shall apply to a rapid rail station or intermodal bus station,
unless the public transit system operating such station adopts a policy prohibiting food or beverages in such
station; and provided, further, that nothing in this paragraph shall preclude a public transit system operated
or funded by a county, municipality, or consolidated government from prohibiting the consumption of any
beverage in a public transit bus;
(5) Plays any radio; cassette, cartridge, or tape player; or similar device unless such device is connected to
an earphone that limits the sound to the hearing of the individual user;
(6) Carries or possesses any explosives, acids, other dangerous articles, or live animals, except for the fol-
lowing:
(A) A guide dog or service dog as described in Code Section 30-4-2, provided that such guide dog or ser-
vice dog is accompanied by a physically disabled person, blind person, person with visual disabilities, deaf
person, or a person who is responsible for training a guide dog or service dog; and
(B) Small pets confined to rigid pet carriers with locks or latches;
(7) Obstructs, hinders, interferes with, or otherwise disrupts or disturbs the operation, operator, or passengers
of a public transit bus or rapid rail car;
(8) Boards any public transit bus through the rear exit door, unless so directed by an employee or agent of
the carrier;
(9) Remains aboard any public transit bus or rapid rail car after such vehicle has completed its scheduled
route and passengers have been advised to exit the vehicle or remains aboard any public transit bus or rapid
rail car after having been warned and after such vehicle has entered a garage or other restricted area not
open to the public;
(10) Enters, exits, or passes through any emergency door of any rapid rail car or public transit bus in the
absence of a bona fide emergency; or
(11) Enters the operator’s cab or driver’s seat of any rapid rail car or public transit bus in the absence of a
bona fide emergency.
(a.1)(1) It shall be unlawful to solicit money or sell goods or services for a fee to the operator or passengers
of a public transit bus or rapid rail car within the confines of such vehicle or within the paid areas of any
rapid rail station or intermodal bus station without the express permission or grant of a concession by the
public transportation authority or carrier.
(2) It shall be unlawful to deliver or distribute handbills or flyers of a commercial nature to the operator or
passengers of a public transit bus or rapid rail car within the confines of such vehicle or within the paid area
of any rapid rail station or intermodal bus station.
(3) A person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon convic-
tion thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50.00 and not more than $100.00. Upon a second
or subsequent conviction, a person shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than
$250.00 or by imprisonment for not more than ten days, or both.
(b) Employees of a public transportation authority or carrier while at work performing the duties of their
employment shall be exempted from the restrictions of paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11) of subsection (a) of
this Code section.
(c) A person convicted of a first offense of violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be punished by
a fine of not less than $50.00 and not more than $100.00. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, a person
shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more than $250.00 or by imprisonment for not
more than ten days, or both.
(d) This Code section shall be cumulative to and shall not prohibit the enactment of any other general and
local laws, rules, and regulations of state or local authorities or agencies, and local ordinances prohibiting
such activities which are more restrictive than this Code section.

A person who commits or attempts to commit any of the following acts shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if
such person:
(1) Sells, makes, or possesses any coin, token, stored value card, transfer, transaction card, ticket, or any other
fare medium which has been altered from its original condition contrary to its intended use to enter or gain
entry into or on any bus, rail vehicle, or station;
(2) Sells or exchanges any token, stored value card, transfer, transaction card, ticket, fare medium, or similar
article which was obtained by fraudulent or illegal means and which is used or to be used as payment for
entry into or on any bus, rail vehicle, or terminal without the express consent of the public transit agency
owning or operating such vehicles or stations;
(3) Offers entry or provides entry into or on any bus, rapid rail car, or station to any person without the pay-
ment of the proper fare to the public transit agency owning or operating such vehicles or stations;
(4) Gains entry into or on any bus, rapid rail car, or station without the payment of the proper fare; or
(5) Gains entry into or on any bus, rapid rail car, or station through the use of a coin, token, transfer, trans-
action card, ticket, or any other fare medium which is the property of another person when the use of such
medium is limited by its terms to a single user. This paragraph shall not apply to stored value cards or simi-
lar fare media which deduct the cost of the fare from the value stored on the card or other fare medium each
time such card or other fare medium is used.