Transportation is one of the greatest tools of humanity’s advancement into the utopian civilization that awaits ahead for us to achieve. Yet it sleeps dormant in the idleness of our slow progression.
Without it we would be bound to our little sectors of habitance and physical connections with other people, other cities, other countries would be nullified into absence.
We can consider anything a mode of transportation, but we’ll write about those which have the greatest efficiency.
Metro: underground city trains
Metro systems are truly one of the genius ways to implement the rail in a city without creating more congestion on the already busy streets, I’m looking at you trams. It’s safe, fast and always on time, apart from those sad moments when tragedy would occur.
Noise does tend to be kinda loud and to those of claustrophobia it might be scary at first, but with some experience it all dulls down as something normal.
Paying for your ticket is governed by access points and the hidden presence of police, yet this doesn’t stop people from jumping over the checkpoints without paying. Police presence is usually limited to 1 officer per metrostation.
Sometimes metro conductors go through trains to catch those who jump the checkpoints, yet they only do the checks on the trains and nowhere else, so if a checkpoint jumper is vigilant, they can spot the danger and hop wagons, or just get off and walk away.
Trains: above the ground in fields and cities
Train transportation has proven to be one of the cheapest ways to travel, if not one of the safest just like the metro. It can seem as confusing when you’d have to switch trains when traveling longer distances or more isolated locations, but at least you always can have eyes on your luggage unlike with long-distance buses.
Trying to freeload usually works for a short amount of time as train conductors are always present on the trains, and they will kick you off if you refuse to pay.
Buses: traveling between cities or countries
Long-distance buses are pretty fast, but are more expensive than trains. In regards to accommodation you get an AC and an old magazine that you’ll never read. They usually play a movie on the small TV at the bus’ midsection and at the front, but I wouldn’t say you’d truly care to watch something random.
In regards to freeloaders, the bus conductor counts how many people are present in the bus in comparison to the total people who’ve bought seats. If someone hasn’t shown to the journey, that can be an entry queue for a freeloader, so long as the bus conductor doesn’t get suspicious to proceed to ask them for a proof of purchase. I’ve even seen this in the UK where if you don’t ask questions and just go to your seat, such would get you no inquiries to proof of purchase.
One thing I dislike heavily about buses is when they’d store your luggage under the seating area. The only way to get or see it is to get off the bus which truly is an inconvenience. The driver sometimes stops at unofficial points, and it’s your responsibility to look after your belongings.
Airplanes: flying high, speeds gone by
Planes are the fastest way of traveling on our planet with the presence of commodity and even excitement.
Due to the tragedies of the past and the usual scope of it due to planes’ capacity of passengers, people are indeed fearful from the ‘potential’ wingless accident, yet many are pushed towards it on everyday basis.
The price for tickets is never small unless a ticket has been booked months in advance. Taking luggage with you has risks in regards to getting your belongings broken or stolen as they’re loaded and unloaded into the plane’s cargo.
There are quite some sneaky fees that are held within choosing a seat, how much luggage you’d bring, the size of your carry-on bag and the fee for your carry-on bag failing to fit the measurements at the plane entry checkpoint.
Getting on board without a ticket is impossible, at least to my knowledge.
City buses: commute in through the bustling streets
City buses are everywhere, but they lack one critical component: control. You can ride without a ticket, and when there’s a bus conductor waiting to board on the next bus stop, you can just get off without repercussions.
Even if you get caught without a ticket, and there’s no police with them, you can just run away, since they will not chase after you. It’s not their job to.
So we should freeload more?
Of course freeloading negatively impacts transportation and it also will keep you alert for any conductors hiding their formal clothes under jumpers and jackets, a hand tucked in their pocket as they’d hold the device for cards.
You will never be able to relax.
But if you enter the bus and find a punctured ticket on the floor or seat, it’s safe to say you can easily just smile and enjoy the free ride. Of course don’t forget to leave the used ticket behind before you leave, as that’s how someone else could benefit from this kindness.
But there’s always the danger of conductors to enter the bus during traffic congestion, during a traffic light stop, or whatever else the case could carry. So in the end, it’s just best for you to pay the price and be a good citizen.