Fare dodger, turnstile jumper, fare beater, fare evader, fare fiddler

Fare dodger, turnstile jumper, fare beater, fare evader, fare fiddler, we all know what that means - the person guilty of fraudulent travel or just simply “travelling without a ticket.”
In New York City the legal term is apparently “theft of services”
The problem seems to be universal – but the bottom line is that the honest amongst us subsidize the dishonest.

Boris (Johnson – London Mayor) slams the fare-dodging ‘parasites’ who cost us £75million, the London Evening Standard headline shouted. And that’s just in one year, in London, £40million on the buses and the Tube £20million.

And I’m sure New York and other big cities are as bad.

On the next page of the same newspaper: 20,000 speed off with petrol without paying says the headline. Apparently motorists stole nearly £800,000 worth of petrol (gas) in “drive-offs” from petrol stations in London last year.

Again I’m sure London is in no way unique.

In our church there is a little wooden holder on the vestry wall, made many years ago to store the match-boxes and lighters for lighting our candles. It is inscribed: EX. XX. XV.
The text referred to? The Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, specifically the Ten Commandments, and particularly number 8 – Thou Shalt Not Steal!

Someone in the distant past in our church must have got fed up with the matches disappearing!

Time to get back, I think, to a few good old fashioned moral codes and ancient wisdoms.