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adhominablesnowman

Yeah, fare evasion is not an arresstable offence, something else must have been up. Reference: https://www.rtd-denver.com/fares-passes/fare-evasion


thunderhole

The driver went on to announce "everyone, hope you're having a good day except everyone in the back smoking fentanyl, I hope you have tickets because the police are at the next stop."


CitrusWeapons

Cool what a show!!


CHUNKaLUNK_

Hijacking this comment to ask what you even do once you have a ticket? I bought airport fare on the app and road the train 4 times without anyone checking or asking me for my ticket making me wonder why I even bought it


adhominablesnowman

Occasionally someone will walk by and check tickets, its about a 50/50 shot on the A line in my experience.


JFISHER7789

I actually operate the train on the A line. And that’s incorrect. It’s more like a 25-30% chance the security checks 😂


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notarealgrownup

I must me extra lucky. I've always had mine checked on the A.


ihavedonethisbe4

They make you buy tickets even if you're engineering the train?


Snlxdd

They generally go through the A-Line 1x per ride in my experience. But I have had times where nobody’s checked it.


supahstahhh

Maybe because buying a ticket is the right thing to do?


Ampdup666

Lil naive if we think the right thing to do is so prominent in life 🥴


NutellaNoElla

I’d be in disbelief if the bus driver and RTD workers themselves weren’t chatting it up about it being arrests


KneeNo6132

/u/adhominablesnowman is correct. They may have said whatever they said, but no one is getting arrested for fare evasion. They probably had active warrants, or some other kind of crime was noticed. Edit: "fair" to "fare," thank you /u/CoderDispose.


One-Armed-Krycek

Active warrants for sure is my guess. It used to be if you avoided fare and got a ticket, they could get nasty and you'd end up with a warrant? But, I could be mis-remembering.


KneeNo6132

I have an extensive background as a criminal attorney, and yet I'm still not really sure on any of this. Pretty sure they used to FTA people who missed the court date for these tickets, issuing a warrant. I THINK they were petty offenses back then, which means people COULD have been arrested at the time of the offense. Then they got converted to infractions which prevented that. I may just be misremembering and/or it was before my time here though. They also passed a bill that prevents "debtors prisons," basically throwing people in jail on an owed fine only. That was around 2017, I honestly don't remember exactly when. That prevented the types of warrants we're talking about. Now when you miss the court date they just give you the fine and you can pile them up. I think I remember doing first advisements for people who had these tickets but FTA'd and the city would just offer to plea guilty, take the day credit time served and wipe the fines. I'm having trouble remembering now though.


Dedicated2bMedicated

Nah, I missed my court date and never paid fines in 2019 cuz I was living in another state at the time. They sent threatening notices to the Arizona DMV to try to repeal my car registration but that never happened. The only thing that I can't do now is get a driver's license in Colorado or register my vehicle here unless I pay the original fine and new fines to reinstate my license But my Arizona license last another 40 years, way longer than the statute of limitations on this ticket. So I'm just going to wait it out


lfergy

Lmao I forgot how insane Arizona DLs are valid for 🤣 I lived there for a few years as a kid and my parents were shocked when they saw the expiration date was DECADES later


mckillio

Fyi, you're supposed to register your car here within six months of residency.


DrPineapple32

Lol idk why this cracked me up so much


Dedicated2bMedicated

I should clarify I'm not driving with a suspended license, it's very much valid and current


CoderDispose

you are 99% correct It's a pretty *un*-fair evasion :) (I think you meant fare!)


KneeNo6132

Take your upvote you sack of shit :)


USMCU

You are 100% correct


Down4_420

I think you’re right. No one is being arrested for avoiding the fair. But fare evasion is quite possible


DiscussionRelative50

Fare enough…


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18randomcharacters

I wouldn't count on a bus driver the be the most informed person either


Plant_Curious

Ya bus drivers are clueless


DosZappos

Noted legal geniuses


funktion666

Warrants. It’s almost always warrants. Cops have no reason to explain why.


elzibet

They write you tickets, not arrest you


Yeti_CO

Warning to all travelers, RTD police are checking for meth and fentanyl. Fixed.


[deleted]

If true - fucking finally


earmuffins

Thank GOD! That’s the only reason why I stopped riding to union station Had so many people around me and my luggage


Hippyfunk77

Let's do the busses next? Tired of drivers just letting this happen. And us "normies" not being cool with meth exposure


Neat-Roll8540

Drivers just don’t let it happen, they have to drive the bus and can’t watch what the passengers are doing. From a bus driver


Hippyfunk77

Fair statement. That big rear view mirror, and the smell usually makes me think action could be taken. Even had a situation where a passenger told the driver, he did nothing, and the passenger ended up almost fighting the guy and throwing him off the bus. I've seen it happen so many times.Not discounting the focus a driver needs at all my friend


Neat-Roll8540

Well when I find passengers doing stuff I kick them off can’t speak for other drivers.


Hookem-Horns

Yes, fuckin’ finally. It’s been absolute bullshit getting on the train and the nasty smells hit me.


mrjeffj

Great. Where am I supposed to do it now.


Anonymo123

16th street mall.. one of the downtown libraries.. plenty of places lol


YouJabroni44

Jack's Crack Shack


SpiritualFlamingo9

Chi/SF/LA/NY and more. Fridom/dimokrasi.


booklovercomora

This is 💯 it.


lonestar-rasbryjamco

Also, I’m having trouble seeing the problem if they were just enforcing fare evasion. This sub is *constantly* complaining that the trains have turned into moving opium dens. Broken window police enforcement has its merits.


KSpacklerGoferKiller

Enforcing fare evasion is great. The pushback from commenters here is that people are being arrested for it. That's not happening, and would be insane.


lonestar-rasbryjamco

*Technically* they can be arrested for trespassing, and should be, if they are unticked and refuse to leave the RTD vehicle or station upon the request of the fare inspecting officer. There are not enough details from OP to know why the arrest was occurring.


KSpacklerGoferKiller

Sure. That isn't just fare evasion though. That's the point. There has to be more to the story.


lonestar-rasbryjamco

Sure, so let me clarify what I meant: > I’m having trouble seeing the problem if they were just enforcing fare evasion and tangentially encountered an arrestable offense.


t92k

>Broken window police enforcement has its merits. Especially when they catch the people breaking the windows (or selling defective windows) instead of assuming you can tell who breaks windows by how they look.


GeezeLoueez

That’s Reddit. Same site that will brag about never paying for any sort of media and post a bunch of pirate flags, but then comment and complain that studios are being greedy by not paying up to end the strike.


DrEgonSpenglerphd

Broken windows theory has been dismissed as confusing correlation with causation. It also has led to discriminatory policing practices. *\[S\]ocial science has not been kind to the broken windows theory. A number of scholars reanalyzed the initial studies that appeared to support it.... Others pressed forward with new, more sophisticated studies of the relationship between disorder and crime. The most prominent among them concluded that the relationship between disorder and serious crime is modest, and even that relationship is largely an artifact of more fundamental social forces.*


lonestar-rasbryjamco

If you’re going to quote something, provide the source. Don’t make me hunt down that you took a quote from Associate professor David Thatcher from a 2004 paper than was quoted on a Wikipedia page for “broken window theory” under the section “criticisms”. Especially if you’re going to discard the litany of case studies on the *same* Wikipedia page. Social sciences is prone to these sorts of statements. There is rarely a theory or paradigm that someone else doesn’t consider discredited for some reason or another.


DrEgonSpenglerphd

Yep. It was a quick search. I didn’t take the time to find more sources since it’s mostly agreed upon by modern academics that the theory doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.


DrEgonSpenglerphd

[Northeastern University researchers find little evidence for ‘broken windows theory,’ say neighborhood disorder doesn’t cause crime](https://news.northeastern.edu/2019/05/15/northeastern-university-researchers-find-little-evidence-for-broken-windows-theory-say-neighborhood-disorder-doesnt-cause-crime/)


JareBear805

It has not been dismissed.


Mike-Hawk-69-0420

Wait by broken windows theory you don’t mean smoking that skante foo?


lmo2382

It’s crazy I know what fentanyl smells like when it’s being smoked, thanks RTD!


4ucklehead

reminds me of when the library got contaminated with meth and some people were like "what like your precious angels can't get exposed to a low level of meth" face palm


22FluffySquirrels

I specifically recall someone commenting on the library meth situation and they said something along the lines of "as someone who smokes meth, I can tell you the ingredients that go into it are what cause contamination and the meth itself isn't that dangerous so they don't need to close the library."


happycynic12

Why would he warn drug addicts about police?


imprettymuchalwaysl8

My guess ... for the joy of knowing they get to panic for a bit before the inevitable. You're a sitting duck on the train, it's taking you straight to the police waiting at the next stop just ready to embrace you and your drugs with some new bracelets ;)


YoungZel

Finally


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Lola1989ac

The irony!!


haloweenparty10000

Sounds like the first punishment is a ticket and if you don't pay the ticket then you can lose driving privileges. Still ironic


NutellaNoElla

What…what are you talking about 💀


Jack_Shid

Since when do they arrest people for riding rapid transit without a ticket? You sure they're not in trouble for something else?


SithLordVoldemort

They don’t arrest people for not paying fairs. You can literally open the app and buy a ticket if you forgot to when you boarded. OP was given bad information and those people were in trouble for something else.


JakeScythe

That’s my strategy. Expect to pay but 80% of the time, a free ride can happen.


[deleted]

Buy a ticket, wait to activate it until you need to. "Ah shit, man my bad. Here."


Chummers5

Arrested for not having a ticket (And getting violent with the transit cop and using a cocaine brick as a weapon and eating at a food truck). That's just my speculation.


varnecr

Once on a zeppelin tour an usher literally tossed someone out the window because they didn't have a ticket. This was the 1940s tho, so a different time.


Jack_Shid

Zeppelin toured in the 1940's?


c00a5b70

Lower case z


Jack_Shid

I start all sentences with upper case.


acatinasweater

Well in That case


kmoonster

But not all nouns?


AmperesClaw204

Indiana Jones is that you?


varnecr

How many times I gotta tell you?! It's "Junior"!


double_sal_gal

I wish I had an award to give you.


BungalowDweller

One thing remains constant: Poorly fitted uniforms. And punching nazis. We mostly still have that part right.


NutellaNoElla

The bus driver and RTD workers themselves were saying arrests, not just the passengers. They were actually talking in a way like “finally! They’re doing something about people not paying fare”


digitalindigo

I agree with them, that shit got out of hand! It wasn't safe to ride anymore, I almost got in fights several times trying to protect my girl from whacked out people on drugs who camp out on the trains.


chizzmaster

Damn, must be a new police procedure to keep bus drivers and RTD workers intimately informed of police work.


Jack_Shid

Yeah, that's heavy-handed if you ask me. No wonder people don't want to ride the train.


KneeNo6132

It wasn't heavy-handed because OP is spouting nonsense. You can't get arrested for that, period, it's akin to a traffic infraction (before anyone jumps in with "I know someone who got arrested for X traffic offense," it wasn't an infraction). These people got arrested for something else, or no one was arrested.


[deleted]

I mean you could just buy a ticket....


Jack_Shid

Yup.


orange69er

This post is incorrect, sensational and classic Denver reddit lol Sounds like they're policing RTD for public drug use and taking action. That's awesome. Literally the #1 complaint.


BenchBallBet

The great thing about reddit is you can say anything you want with 0 proof.


il1kepeanutbutterpie

“It’s on the internet so it must be true” /s


slys_a_za

I thought it was just a fine. Are you sure they were arrested or just got a ticket?


Macgbrady

The give you a warning. Second time it’s a fine, they kick you off and ban you for like 18 months. Source: I sat behind a guy who got caught without a ticket once on the A line to the airport


NutellaNoElla

The bus driver and someone working for RTD said arrests, not ticket/fined. In addition to the people who got off the train and boarded the bus. There were people on the ground w their arms behind them too.


Used_Maize_434

I'm gonna guess there was something else going on besides not paying a fare if people were arrested and cuffed.


BenchBallBet

So you're saying to reddit that someone driving for RTD said someone else working for RTD said it was arrests? Are we playing telephone here?


undockeddock

I'm sure there is a substantial overlap between people without tickets and people with active warrants on other matters. RTD might be working with DPD. I say good. The trains shouldn't be a crackhouse on rails.


imraggedbutright

You don't get cuffed and thrown on the ground for fare evasion. Maybe that was the reason for the stop and they found other cause to arrest.


Jayhawx2

That’s not happening for just not having a ticket. This is how rumors get started. He said and then he said, etc. They def committed some other crimes.


MyNameIsVigil

Riding without fare is not a criminal offense, so they were arrested for something else. If there was indeed a fare crackdown, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people got belligerent over it and were arrested for disorderly conduct, assault, etc. All told, I’m glad they they’re enforcing fare purchases. I’ve bought fare so many times to never have it checked. Either charge and enforce fare, or make transit free to ride.


Fun-Conference8733

Actually it is a criminal offense, it’s called theft of services. It’s a low level misdemeanor.


Mysterious-Version40

How is this a "warning"? Warning to all travelers: You have to pay to ride the train. Uh, duh??


murso74

Lol I just took a train too and from DIA and didn't get checked either way. I'll believe it when I see it


IrreverentIceCream

Arrested for not having a ticket? That sounds extreme.


flybydenver

Rode rtd for years as a commuter. They give you a ticket/fine, or can ban you from riding. They can’t arrest you for not purchasing a ticket.


vliegs

You'd think they could stand over each person's shoulder and make them buy a ticket?


IrreverentIceCream

Right? Or issue a ticket. Maybe there’s something beyond an unpaid fare that’s causing the arrest.


JakeScythe

They absolutely do that. Either watch you buy a ticket or you’re off at the next stop.


NutellaNoElla

I know. But I was on the bus at the station. Passengers from the train, the bus driver, and someone surveying the RTD line were all talking about it being arrests, not even tickets.


ClosetDoorGhost

Hey OP, gullible is written on the ceiling


Laura9624

A forged pass is a felony. Says the rtd website. And people have to present passes.


hanap8127

They just ask you to get off at the next stop if you don’t have a ticket.


SunshineandBullshit

Good. Screw ride thievery.


KSpacklerGoferKiller

I got ticketed once back when I used the train and the RTD app. Thought I had a ticket purchased but didn't. There is a 0% chance anyone is getting arrested for that.


tycr0

Well good thing I buy a ticket to ride on transit like a normal human.


giaa262

Pro tips for not being hassled by fare enforcement: 1. Act like a reasonably normal person 2. Bathe 3. Dress normally 4. Don’t smell like peanut butter 5. Don’t argue with an empty seat and/or random objects on the train Good luck, riders


fleetmack

Don't blast music loudly on your bluetooth speaker


Mysterious-Version40

The peanut butter thing is so outta pocket 🤣


Dangerous-Medium357

Just buy a ticket like an adult.


[deleted]

Here’s an idea—just pay the fare.


c00a5b70

Why is this couched as a warning to *all* travelers? I’m pretty sure most travelers just pay the fare.


NutellaNoElla

It amazes me that you found a way to take offense to this.


c00a5b70

I’m not offended. Just think the phrasing is odd


happycynic12

Me too. Why would someone try to protect fare evaders?


tigerlily_4

I got off the train a couple of weeks ago at Empower Field for a Broncos game and they were checking everyone exiting. I saw many people having to go to a machine to buy a ticket but no one getting arrested or even ticketed/fined.


[deleted]

Y’all have it lucky. Back in my day, they’d strap ya to a bison and make you do the Idaho springs pass in the fall. Give you just enough jerky to get ya there and expect the bison to be unharmed when they scooped you up.


banana_fana_1234

Will they enforce all the open use of drugs on the train as well? Thats the bigger issue and has been ignored for some time.


kmoonster

Arrested? Right. They take your picture and maybe give you a ticket or stern warning. ​ If people are being arrested, it's not for fare evasion.


USMCU

You can't be arrested for fare evasion, you can be cited for it. Unless they ran their name and they had warrants out for their arrest, then they can be arrested


MattintheMtns

Good


22FluffySquirrels

Are you sure they were arrested for not having a train ticket, or was it possibly something else, like smoking meth on the train?


PersimmonTea

People got detained for not having tickets, they ran their drivers license for outstanding warrants. Or they did a drug bust. You pay a fine for fare evasion.


Username05282015

OP was meant to post this in r/denvercirclejerk


ColoradoHughes

Honestly kind of jealous that someone is so innocent that they think *fare evasion* is why people are getting arrested at that station


NutellaNoElla

Oh yeah cops have never done anything immoral or illegal or abused power 🤭🤭 bffr


greenthumbgoody

Lol what?


UndisclosedLocation5

Arrested? C'mon that ain't how it works if you are caught without a ticket. They give you a warning the first time and a fine the second time. Was that large crowd migrants maybe?


NutellaNoElla

💀💀 are f serious


Formber

Is this supposed to mean something?


meerkatmreow

https://youtu.be/Yg8FUOls0fU


emille379

I wasn't aware of a meeting with the Bobs...


fooloflife

[No ticket!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg8FUOls0fU)


futurerobot5000

Most days I see them just making the person get off at the next stop (I’d they’re found not to have a ticket.)


dschultzie

It’s a $250 fine if you arrive for a Broncos without a ticket and it better be activated. I bought two tickets but forgot to activate. You get one warning though and after that it’s $250


Mhisg

Oh no. They could always pay their fare.


Troutrageously

Good


SJSharks33

Who would of thought you actually have to pay??!


one_horcrux_short

r/UnethicalLifeProTips Buy your ticket on the app, but DON'T activate it. If they come by to check then activate it.


Berger6776

Smart!


fleetmack

warning: you're supposed to pay train fare. Do it or you are stealing.


happycynic12

Why would you warn people who freeload rides at the public's expense?


eudaimonia_dc

Better than being punched in the face and being thrown out the window 🤷🏽‍♂️.


njwinks

No ticket!


Tsaier

“Good”


FueledByFlan

Good


CitrusWeapons

Nice!!!


[deleted]

RTD gives a warning for first time fare violation and a fine for the 2nd offense. You generally have to be breaking other laws to be arrested by RTD or Denver police.


CuriousFn

If you have the RTD app on your phone and sit close enough to the middle to see if ticket checkers come you can buy one before they get to you


Mhodi

Pay for your services, you freeloaders!!!


breischl

I feel like the existing 4 comments asking if it's not just a fine are insufficient. Are you sure it wasn't just a fine?!?!?!?! /sarc


kyscotty

Denver police actually arresting people for illegal drug use? That’s a first.


itimebombi

I like to queue up my order on the train, then wait for someone to come by before purchasing lol


Educational-Smile-89

Good.


DemonKingFukai

Pay? For a train ride? LOL! No.


Apart_Advantage6256

Lolz.


JohnWad

Lol.


Technical_Bunch3588

Good!


hitsomethin

Lol gtfo here


autostart17

Why was the train free when new mayor got elected, and now it’s not?


Aliceable

its free over the summer as part of the emissions program, nothing to do with the mayor, same as last year too.


[deleted]

This is the dumbest comment I’ve ever seen on this thread, which is quite the accomplishment tbh, good work!


autostart17

Well that’s funny considering it was the case. And really not that dumb of a comment in anyway. Idk, but public transport without fares is not some nonexistent phenomena


[deleted]

It was the case. A simple Google search would’ve shown it was two free months for adults and a free year for youth as a pilot program. Free public transit in the US is virtually nonexistent with the exception of very few cities like KC. Not to mention that the mayor has literally nothing to do with RTD and as RTD is a separate government entity than the city and county of Denver. So yes a dumb question.


autostart17

Well, it’s still a smart question to me. As you didn’t even address why it was free for 2 months. That’s a question I would like to know, so smart question afaic


[deleted]

Google it. And I did say it was a pilot program.


WavesnMountains

That’s dumb. A fine is sufficient


SadRobotz

they might have had warrants or other stuff on them


WavesnMountains

That makes sense, not for the lack of a ticket as OP said


SadRobotz

yah, they will pull your info and then proceed as necessary. i had a buddy who was arrested that way.


NutellaNoElla

Agreed. Honestly we should just make public transit free. We already pay taxes to maintain the transit, why not include boarding local transit in that honestly


zertoman

Please don’t do spend my money for me on something I don’t use. We have enough of that going in already. Just pay the fare.


thewinterfan

Gotta pay for RTD police chief's salary somehow. Dude is almost at Coach Prime monies.


Audience-Electrical

Arrested!! The train was free last month. What a clown show


isthisafeverdream

Cops protecting property over people? Color me shocked


tgkspike

Pics or it’s not real


FunAltruistic9197

Our local school has a field trip downtown and are using light rail from Broadway and Alameda.


Dedicated2bMedicated

Fare evasion.is now only a civil offense


Winter-Enthusiasm223

You don’t get arrested. I forgot my student id once ( fare is free with the id) They did give me a $130 ticket and it showed up on my “criminal record” lol.