Dont steal public transportation

Today, on the Lightrail (RTD), there sprung up four cops checking to see that people had paid their fares. By "sprung up," I mean that I did not realize that they were cops until they took out their badges. (Though in my defense, I was reading my homework---so I wasn't playing much attention until the badges came out.)

Anyways, I am used to the RTD security guards; I treated them exactly the same way that I would the RTD guards. For me, there was no difference...I asked them how they were; I showed the cop my student ID (which doubles as my bus-pass) and went back to doing my homework. Ok, I did treat them differently---I normally joke to the guards that they should feel free to doublecheck my homework.

But there was someone else on the train who claimed to have paid and couldn't find their fare stub (provided that they were telling the truth). So the cops were writing down their information. Unfortunately, the person also claimed to have their wallet stolen recently. And because the cops had to make sure that they were who they claimed to be, at the next stop they took them off to remain in their custody until they (or the police) could confirm they were who they were.

I understand being willing to run the risk of a forty dollar ticket...and I suspect that the Lightrail guards are given false information all the time...but to risk arrest to avoid paying the RTD fare, well, that is just stupid.

The moral---don't steal public transportation, especially if you are trying to get somewhere on time.