A cheap ride
I was a poor college student who only had bus fare for a non-peak ride. Unfortunately, it was peak time. I got on the bus and dropped in the non-peak fare, avoiding eye contact with the driver, and began making my way to the back. The driver said “Hey, it’s peak, you owe more money,” etc., and I ignored him and sat down. I snuck a peek at him and he was yelling at me to come up and pay more money. So…I kept ignoring me and pretended I was deaf. Everyone on the bus was turning around and looking at me while the driver yelled at me, and I just calmly stared out the window, “oblivious.” Eventually he just gave up and I rode for cheap.
Mar 19th, 2007 at 8:16 am
You theif! You owe them money. You should feel ashamed of yourself.
Mar 19th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Do you mean thief?
Mar 19th, 2007 at 10:42 am
That’s a $180 fine if you get caught all he has to do is make a call or just happen to pick up a cop
Mar 19th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Yes, Thief. At least mine was an honest mistake. Unlike Andrea’s.
Mar 19th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Yeah, I’m not sure this entry is really in the implied spirit of this site.
You intentionally make a bus driver’s life difficult by scamming one of the few municipal systems that’s actually affordable and convenient and benefits those of modest means, then try to pass it off as an amusing anecdote?
Amusing, no. Obnoxious, definitely.
Mar 20th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Along with the $180 fine why make an entire bus load of people late if the driver calls the police sometimes they are told to wait then the uestion arises how many people are going to miss connections and get late for work? Some people get upset with the driver for dealing with the situation
Mar 20th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Wow - if you’d like, I’d be happy to track down the driver from a decade ago and pay him that extra fifty cents (hell, I’ll even throw in an extra buck for inflation and pain suffering).
Seriously, lighten up. I pay my taxes, I donate to multiple charities, I give money to homeless dudes, I have even been known to help an old lady or two cross the street. Once I was a bit poor myself and had to resort to a touch of thievery (that’s thievery, not theivery, “Pays My Way”). This feedback is akin to the tale of Jean Valjean being thrown in jail for 20 years for stealing a loaf of bread.
Incidentally, I highly doubt that any cop would have given me a $180 fine once he gazed upon my sweet smile and perky luscious…. um, ears. KIDDING.
Mar 20th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Seriously, people like you should be locked away where you see only a sliver of daylight every fortnight. Deaf people travel among us every day but now you’ve made it worse. Would you have banged on the floor of the attic when they came for Anne Frank? Would you have told the congregation at Jonestown “It’s only flavor-aid?” You have used your petty problems to make life worse for an innocent group of people. You should have your children taken away, your pets sent to kill-shelters and made to watch ABC Afterschool Specials over and over and over.
I weep for you.
Mar 20th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
I love ABC Afterschool Specials, especially when they star Tracey Gold:
“Jenny! Eat something!”
Mar 24th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
You will get a ticket. I have a driver that calls for the police when people don’t pay all of the fare.
Why should my taxes have to pay for the asshole to ride free.
Mar 25th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
It’s great to see so many people angry over fare evasion (that’s what it is called) 50 cents may seem trivial to you, but it is just not fair that people get on every day and pay what they are supposed to and others feel like they can play “let’s make a deal” on the bus or just sneak on by. I am a driver and once had a drunk get on and tell me he had a nickel and needed a transfer. I told him the fare was $1.50 and stuck to my guns. He got off. If he had tried to get on he’d have gotten a FREE ride….to jail or detox. Hell, you don’t go to McDonalds and tell them you have a dime and want a big mac…why do people think it is ok to do on the bus? ESPECIALLY, if you are so drunk you can’t walk or talk. Maybe budgeting is your problem…ya think? Don’t have that last beer and you have your bus fare.
Thanks to all of you that pay your fare correctly each and every time you get on the bus. You are appreciated. Fare evasion is not only a crime…and yes, it is on camera and they DO give out tickets…but it also puts the driver in an unfair and uncomfortable position. One more note, if you are ticketed more than once for fare evasion, you can…and will…be given what is called a “trespass notice”. This prohibits you from being in/on any Metro Transit property…you can’t even stand in a bus shelter or step onto a bus or train. You will go to jail if the driver turns you in or if the cops see you. We have lists of the people that have current trespass notices and they are complete with their pictures. Do yourself a favor…and be fair to everyone that pays every day…pay your fare!
Mar 28th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Well put Jeanne. Andrea sounds like a right bitch. Yeah, you pay your taxes, but that doesn’t mean you are entitled to a free ride. I don’t own a car but my taxes pay for roads. Does that mean i can go on Nicollet Avenue with a jackhammer and rip it up? Get off yer high horse, ya gob shite!
Apr 11th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Hey Andrea–if it makes you feel any better I’m letting you know I’m on your side. I remember thinking about doing that once years ago when i still rode the bus. But instead of pretending i was deaf I was going to pretend I didn’t know any english. We must be on the same wave length. I wonder how many other people have tried this?
Mar 17th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Just be upfront with us, most of us would understand. dont try the scam we know them all. and do it without that attitude. im sick of it