Picture this... Saturday morning, on the Skytrain, heading downtown to meet my friend Ingmarie who's in town for the weekend. Except it starts off all wrong.
One stop after I get on the skytrain, two police officers board the train and announce that they're going to be checking peoples fares. No problem, I get out my monthly pass and hand it to one of them when he comes by. He looks at the pass, looks at me and says: "This is January, I need to see February." I was speechless. I'm so used to just having a U-Pass built into my student card that I'd completely forgotten I needed to buy another month. Next he says: "You'll have to get off at the next stop with me." The guy sitting next to me commiserated with me by saying he'd had the same thing happen to him and that they should have some sort grace period for people who buy monthly passes.
So we get to the next stop and the cop comes back to me and motions for me to get off the train. I follow him out and he asks for my driver's license and starts writing me a ticket! Here I thought he was going to realize I made an honest mistake, be a nice guy, give me a warning, and let me go buy a fare! So he finishes writing the ticket and has me sign it. You think it'd be for 50 bucks, right? I mean it's only a $2.25 fare. Wrong! ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE DOLLARS!! That's like a speeding ticket! And I only made a mistake, I wasn't even endangering anyones life.
I kind of felt like he strung me along by only saying I'd have to get off with him, not that I'd have to get off and receive a ticket. Maybe he would have let me off the hook if he hadn't pulled off a seventeen year old girl at the same time, I don't know. In talking with her afterwards (she decided to sit and chat with me even though the train was mostly empty), it became fairly obvious that she often rode without paying. That kind of pissed me off even further - I don't want to be associated with some teenage airhead delinquent when I only made an honest mistake (and believe me, she was an airhead).
So anyway, as the cop explained to me, I have three courses of action. One, if I pay within 30 days they will reduce the fine by $25 (big deal). Two, I can go to a Driver's Services Center and request a court date at which I could explain to a judge what happened and hope for a reduced fine. While this likely would be the best option for reducing the fine, it doesn't make a lot of sense for me since A) the court date likely wouldn't be until after I've gone back to Victoria, and B) even if it was scheduled in the next three months I'd have to take off work to be there, thereby losing more money. Or three, I can go to Driver's Services Center and sign something that states I agree I'm guilty but I'm asking for a reduced fine. This is what I will likely do. Hopefully, there will be a section where I can explain why I'm requesting a reduced fine (honest mistake, had a January pass, bought a February pass, just moved to the city, poor student, all that jazz).
Anyway, after the rough start the rest of the weekend was really great. Ing and I shopped Robson street, went to an h'our dourve reception for her work, had yummy Italian for dinner, and went to IKEA.
I'll keep you posted on my fight against "The Man".
One stop after I get on the skytrain, two police officers board the train and announce that they're going to be checking peoples fares. No problem, I get out my monthly pass and hand it to one of them when he comes by. He looks at the pass, looks at me and says: "This is January, I need to see February." I was speechless. I'm so used to just having a U-Pass built into my student card that I'd completely forgotten I needed to buy another month. Next he says: "You'll have to get off at the next stop with me." The guy sitting next to me commiserated with me by saying he'd had the same thing happen to him and that they should have some sort grace period for people who buy monthly passes.
So we get to the next stop and the cop comes back to me and motions for me to get off the train. I follow him out and he asks for my driver's license and starts writing me a ticket! Here I thought he was going to realize I made an honest mistake, be a nice guy, give me a warning, and let me go buy a fare! So he finishes writing the ticket and has me sign it. You think it'd be for 50 bucks, right? I mean it's only a $2.25 fare. Wrong! ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE DOLLARS!! That's like a speeding ticket! And I only made a mistake, I wasn't even endangering anyones life.
I kind of felt like he strung me along by only saying I'd have to get off with him, not that I'd have to get off and receive a ticket. Maybe he would have let me off the hook if he hadn't pulled off a seventeen year old girl at the same time, I don't know. In talking with her afterwards (she decided to sit and chat with me even though the train was mostly empty), it became fairly obvious that she often rode without paying. That kind of pissed me off even further - I don't want to be associated with some teenage airhead delinquent when I only made an honest mistake (and believe me, she was an airhead).
So anyway, as the cop explained to me, I have three courses of action. One, if I pay within 30 days they will reduce the fine by $25 (big deal). Two, I can go to a Driver's Services Center and request a court date at which I could explain to a judge what happened and hope for a reduced fine. While this likely would be the best option for reducing the fine, it doesn't make a lot of sense for me since A) the court date likely wouldn't be until after I've gone back to Victoria, and B) even if it was scheduled in the next three months I'd have to take off work to be there, thereby losing more money. Or three, I can go to Driver's Services Center and sign something that states I agree I'm guilty but I'm asking for a reduced fine. This is what I will likely do. Hopefully, there will be a section where I can explain why I'm requesting a reduced fine (honest mistake, had a January pass, bought a February pass, just moved to the city, poor student, all that jazz).
Anyway, after the rough start the rest of the weekend was really great. Ing and I shopped Robson street, went to an h'our dourve reception for her work, had yummy Italian for dinner, and went to IKEA.
I'll keep you posted on my fight against "The Man".
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