Recently, a few people I know have expressed their irritation at tailgaters at train stations. These people get through the ticket gates without paying for access by closely following a paying customer through the gate to confuse the sensor.
Tailgaters don’t contribute to the public transport system in terms of either money or statistics. I believe that public transport is the only reasonable solution for Sydney traffic problems, so we should be encouraging people to use the trains. Unfortunately, the government is far less likely to invest in new infrastructure if usage numbers are low and income is not flowing in.
That’s not to say that I don’t understand why people might do it. Even recently I’ve ridden trains without a ticket, forgetting that my destination on a particular trip was outside the range of my weekly pass. Years ago in Japan, before electronic tickets, I used to forge daily passes to save myself the fares at a time I had almost no money. I’m not proud of that, but train tickets are expensive.
Is tailgating an Australian form of begging? Begging makes me uncomfortable because I believe that any money I give is likely to go to cigarettes or alcohol rather than to helping the beggar survive and find a better life. At least tailgaters aren’t wasting my money on addictions, but I find myself feeling complicit in the rort when I’ve put my days of exploitation behind me.
I feel a little cowardly for not confronting these people, but it happens so quickly that by the time you get over the shock of having someone pressed up against you, they’re gone. All that’s left is a faint ‘thanks, mate’ ringing in my ears.