Winking hoods

"Only losers take the bus" - The Fatima Mansions

As a frequenter of buses, I've observed a simple yet effective grift. Perpetrators carry two 10-trip tickets, one expired. After dipping the invalid pass into the machine, they ignore its beedy-beedy-beep alarm and occupy a seat. If the driver says nothing, then - barring random inspections - it's a free ride. In the event of an, "Oi! That's expired," they return to the front of the bus, feign an apology, and produce and insert the valid ticket. I see this at least weekly and it's hard to believe it's ever an honest mistake, what with the words "NO RIDES LEFT" automatically printed across a pass with all trips used. (Begging the question why anyone would hang onto it.) This evening, I witnessed a likely lad* attempt the trick with both "dead" and unused tickets clearly visible in his hand. He was halfway up the aisle when the driver called him back. He smiled the smile of the busted.


*Rather than perpetuate youth stereotypes, let's pretend he wasn't wearing a hoodie.