Obligation for Traveling Without Payment

Hello, I boarded a bus and my Rav-Kav card didn't work (because there was no contract, meaning when you turn 18 you need to update the youth profile), and I didn't know it wasn't working before I did it, I had no idea about it, and therefore I didn't pay. Is this considered theft, and if so, what should I do to rectify it? I will note that I had friends from the yeshiva who might have been able to pay for me on that specific bus (where it still wouldn't have helped me later because I parted ways and needed to take another bus), and I didn't ask them because I was sure that since it's a malfunction and it's not related to me, I don't need to go to such lengths and also pay. Is this correct?

Hello and blessings,

The Ministry of Transport does not require retroactive payment for a trip made without payment.

[That is, although it is certainly strictly forbidden to board a bus without paying, once the trip has already been made for some reason, the company has no legal way to collect the money].

Nevertheless, some bus companies have declared that they do not waive the money, and according to the instructions of the Gaon, Rabbi Avraham Fried, shlita, for these companies it is obligatory to pay even retroactively.

If you provide the name of the company in question, I can check for you whether it is one of the companies that require retroactive payment or not.