Opinions: Have you ever dodged a fare?
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Your support makes all the difference.MARTIN AMIS, writer: Yes, all the time when I was young, because of the money. In those days you could get through the barriers - it's harder to do that now. I certainly wouldn't stop anyone fare dodging nowadays. You're likely to get murdered if you did that. I can understand why people still do it. It's cheaper and it seems so venial.
RUTH RENDELL, crime novelist: No, but not for moral reasons. It's just that money isn't a problem and I can afford to pay for the ticket. Would I stop a fare dodger? Certainly not. It's not my job to be my brother's keeper.
ANNA SPENCER, secretary: I buy a monthly travel pass and I always squeeze a few extra days on the end. Slipping through in a big surge of people usually does the trick - my tip is to look the inspector in the eye and smile, so he focuses on your face not your ticket.
WENDY, student: Yes, mostly to stations with no ticket barriers and which are likely to be unmanned. Egham's a good one. What's the point of paying for a ticket if nobody checks it, and nobody knows if you've paid for it? And, ha, ha, I've never been caught. So there.
PAUL, ex-policeman: No. It's stealing. Of course it's criminal. It's the thin end of the wedge like all those other things like littering, shoplifting and joyriding. People talk as if they are little crimes that don't matter, aren't really very naughty, but that's not true.
SHAW TAYLOR, creator of Crimestoppers: No. Never. Well, come to think of it, I probably did when I was in the air force. Yes, I remember now, I handed in a Woodbine packet instead of a ticket. That must have been 1943.
MICHAEL, TV producer: When I was 18 or so I did it quite a lot. Everyone fare dodges like everyone steals sweets from Woolworth's. If I saw someone else doing it I'd cheer them on.
(Photograph omitted)
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