Calmly Presenting Issued Cancelled Tickets... 'Express Bus Beggar' Warning Issued

Purchased at the ticket booth → canceled and then presented the boarding pass
"Seems like not the first time using this trick"... Netizens outraged

A story about a passenger who boarded a highway bus without paying by presenting a ticket that had already been refunded has become a hot topic.

On the 22nd, a post titled "I've heard of delivery freeloaders, but this is the first time hearing about highway bus freeloaders" gained attention on an online community.

According to highway bus driver A, a passenger purchased a ticket with a card at the bus ticket office, then canceled it, and eventually boarded the bus by showing the ticket held in their hand.

[Photo by Online Community BobaeDream Capture]

Mr. A wrote, "An elderly grandmother got on the bus and scanned her ticket at the terminal, but the message 'Please check your ticket' kept playing," adding, "After asking for her understanding, I checked the ticket and it was indeed for my bus."

He continued, "The seat number was 3, but there was already a passenger in seat 3," and added, "No matter how much I checked the two tickets, there was nothing unusual."

Fortunately, there were empty seats on the bus, so the grandmother was able to board, but it was only after reporting the situation to the company that the cause of the confusion was discovered.

Mr. A explained, "The passenger holding the ticket was the cause," saying, "They purchased the ticket with a card at the ticket office, received the ticket, and then canceled the card. The person who purchased seat 3 via the mobile app had a canceled ticket, so they had legitimately purchased it."

He said, "Now that everything has been confirmed and I have heard the results, there was nothing I could do at the scene at the time," and added, "If my bus had been sold out, it would have been a very difficult situation."

He also said he could only say, "Although South Korea is an IT powerhouse, if two people purchase tickets simultaneously, tickets may be issued to both, and it seems this was such a case."

Mr. A emphasized, "I've heard of delivery freeloaders, but this is the first time hearing about highway bus freeloaders," and added, "The company says they will report this to the police, and if this was done intentionally, I hope they receive legal punishment."

Among netizens, opinions such as "This doesn't seem like a first-time trick," "As a former ticket clerk, there are far worse things at terminals," and "Legal punishment must be enforced" were expressed.

Meanwhile, according to the highway bus transportation business terms and conditions, if a passenger boards without a ticket or boards without changing the ticket at a transfer stop, an additional fare up to 10 times the base fare for the boarding section may be charged.