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No barriers to fare dodgers
HERE is another – true – Leeds City railway station barrier story.
Travelling on the National Express train between Wakefield and Leeds, a lad of about 30 with a can of Stella in his hand started up a conversation with me (I get this a lot – I must have one of those faces).
He asked where I was going. To work, I said. He seemed somewhat scornful at the idea of a job.
He asked how much the fare was to Leeds, as he didn't have a ticket. I told him that the train guard might check. "Oh, they never check on these trains just for this short journey." He then said: "You can't just walk out at Leeds. I'll find a way to jump over the barrier."
I was wondering how he was going to do this and asked him: "And who is going to pay for that?"
"Us, the taxpayer," he replied, somewhat facetiously.
I told him I might try it myself (joking!). He smirked at me.
All the while passengers around me were listening, yet saying nothing.
I decided to watch him. Quick as a monkey, he leapt over the metal gate at the side of the barrier (used for trolleys etc to gain access) and disappeared into the tea-time rush hour crush. I overheard someone say: "Did you see that?"
This character, by the way, was wearing a workman's high-visibility jacket – a clever and deliberate tactic to "blend in" and "go anywhere" without being questioned or arousing suspicion.
Minutes later I saw him again, this time just outside the Queens Hotel. He threw his Stella can on the pavement – as many do – and was asking passers-by for money.
I mentioned this to two British Transport Police officers who were around but they didn't seem surprised, nor did they seem to take it that seriously. Station staff simply dismissed it with: "Oh, it will be recorded on CCTV."
A passenger told me that this happens all the time on the London Underground.
Well, there we are. A lesson in the fine art of fare-dodging and how the powers-that-be are attempting to stop it. Why do we bother?
John Roberts, St Johns Court, Wakefield
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Weather for Leeds
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 26 C
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