These days not only do I tap in everywhere, I’m so much of a goody two shoes that if I forget to tap out I log in to the nexus site to complete the journey.

But 15+ years ago, back in the days of the yellow paper tickets, I never bought a ticket because - and this is the absolute truth - I was checked once in 3 months, and realised it was cheaper to pay the fine than buy tickets every day. I then didn’t get checked for about 9 months, and saved (well, drank) an absolute fortune.

So yeah, if you’re not going through stations with barriers, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if people are free riding.

It reminds me of the whole “if you see someone shoplifting, no you didn’t” thing. I have also skipped out on a lot of Metro fares in my time, because I had zero income and needed to get around to interviews or, god forbid, actually visit a friend once in a while. Got caught once, but since I did this regularly for most of a year the fine was well worth it.

Nowadays I’m much better off (can even afford food! gosh!) so I’ll happily pay for such an important service.

All that said, it’s possible the people you saw just don’t know they’re supposed to tap out as well as in. Some of the buses near us have started doing the tap in and out thing instead of interacting with the driver, and I swear I’m the only person I’ve ever seen actually tap out as instructed. Whether the people who don’t tap out get charged more, or whether I’m doing it unnecessarily, is unclear. Maybe it’s something to do with the current £2 fare cap. No idea. But those were the instructions so I’ll keep doing it!