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I’m writing this on a train on the way home from the big smoke. I’m sure there are those of you out there who have done this before but it seems kinda cool to me because I never have. It also feels kinda dorky.
I’ve been thinking about fare evasion today. I’ve spent all week tramming (real word? not quite sure) in and out of the city and it’s amazing how many people hop on and hop off without a ticket in sight. I must admit to doing this a couple of times myself. At the beginning of the week I was all about the ticket buying, but I saw so many people not bothering I decided to chance it. Either I’m incredibly lucky, or the fare police were on holiday, because I didn’t see a single ticket checker my entire week. My usual method was to buy a ticket to cover my journey in, plus the odd trip or two in the middle of the city, and by the end of the week I wasn’t buying a ticket for the journey home. Quite often the decision was made for me, with several ticket machines being out of service. And forget about fighting my way through to the ticket machine when it was packed full of hot sweaty bodies. By the time I made it there it would be time to hop off again anyway.
Did this make me feel bad? Not really. Perhaps paying some of the time made it easier to justify it to myself, but when there isn’t anybody bothering to police the whole ticketing issue, what incentive is there for people to pay? (apart from an inherent desire to follow all rules at all times!)
So, do you think I’m a corrupt and immoral person? Or would you do the same thing?
Tram #7 To Heaven – Jens Lekman
Oh! – Corrupt, definitely. I’ve never skipped a tram fare; just buses & trains.
Oh what a pillar of decency you are Andy!
ah yes; but in the south of England trams are the stuff of old photographs & Judy Garland films. Seen a few in Holland though.
Corrupt and immoral for sure.
I knew it!
Funny, you can’t get away with that thing here at all. In fact jumping the turnstile in New York City can land you in jail (!) so no, not done it. But in my youth I have pocketed a fair share of small items that were not noticed by shopkeepers… and the thought has occurred to me to do so again of late… tho the embarrassment of being caught at this age is a good deterrent. Promise you won’t tell!
Oh Tart, you scallywag you! I’m not sure what ‘this age’ refers to exactly, but perhaps the older you get the more likely you are to get away with it? And when you get really REALLY old, you can just claim alzheimers!
haha like on Jackass. thats funny stuff.
Oh yeah that’s my fave Jackass moment!
Across Glasgow there are ticket machines at most train stations that no-one uses unless there are inspectors physically preventing you boarding the train without a ticket. On buses, we all have to pay as you get on, but just about everyone asks for the minimum fare and then goes as far as they like….
And while I join in the sport of fare-dodging at home, I never ever do so abroad for fear of breakking some sort of by-law that results in a massive fine (this happened one year in Amsterdam en route to teh city from the airport….and it was a genuine misunderstanding on my part, but my pleas got me nowhere with the ticket collector and his sidekick policeman).
Oh and great track (geddit??) to go with this posting.
Hehe…the jokes are flying thick and fast! Nice info about the ticket dodging in Glasgow actually, that might come in handy one day. Though exercising caution when in a foreign country is probably the way to go, as you’ve pointed out!