The photograph shows the vinyl applied to the glass doors and windows of the former SJ ticket office at Stockholm Central Station. SJ is a government-owned passenger train operator in Sweden, and the largest passenger train company by journeys, passengers and turnover. In 2021, the last three remaining staffed railway ticket offices in Sweden were closed in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Since then the last remaining SJ ticket machines (one is in the photograph) have also been removed.

While other operators exist, they too have moved to digital platforms for the sale of tickets. In Sweden, the implicit expectation is that transport tickets are bought online, either via web or smartphone apps, using a debit card, credit card, or the (Sweden-only) digital payment service Swish.

One can still buy tickets from convenience shops, but only in larger towns and cities in the more populous southern part of the country and always for a 100SEK (€10) premium. Bus and tram tickets cannot be bought for cash, and purchases made on board, at the point of inspection, are usually more expensive.

Passengers without access or the ability to use these technologies, or passengers without access to these digital banking services are penalised. People escaping violence or conflict, people without a permanent address — and even tourists with certain foreign banking services — are all penalised. Passengers seeking assistance in stations are directed towards roaming employees who may (or may not) be found on stations.