What Fare Evasion Schemes Have You Seen?

From M:

Recently,  I at the Archives station, I approached the fare gate to swipe my Metro card, a young man was on the opposite side of the gate. He didn’t look to have a Metro card in his hand and looked as if he was trying to decide how to get around the gate.

At the time I entered the station, only one gate was open for riders to swipe their cards to enter.

At this time, I was the only one approaching to swipe my card.

When I swiped my card and proceeded to walk through the gate, the young man abruptly came to where I was entering. He said, “Excuse me miss” and quickly brushed by me as the turnstile opened and walked quickly toward the escalators to exit the station on Pennsylvania Avenue.

It all happened very suddenly and I was left speechless.

I looked around for a station manager and told them I understood there probably wasn’t anything that he could do about it since the guy had already made it to the escalators.

The station manager told me I was right he could do anything because essentially he had no real authority (ie: no weapon) to stop misbehaving passengers. He said he appreciated me telling him about the skipped fare.

I am female (and I am also petite), and my first thought was it could have been so easy for this guy to snatch my purse. (Believe me I was holding on to it for dear life). Or what if I were carrying my cell phone in my hand (as a lot of people do on the Metro), he could have easily snatched that out of my hand. Or if you have been out shopping and have bags in your hand. Someone could easily snatch your purchases away!

I write this message to encourage everyone who rides the Metro to be careful (AT ALL TIMES) when riding the train. Stay extra vigilant!