A penny-pinching – and dare we say resourceful – bus passenger recently tried to avoid paying a bus fare by playing the “dood” sound (ordinarily heard when completing an Octopus card transaction) on his smartphone, according to Sky Post.
The story surfaced when an internal Citybus memo warning drivers about potentially similar cases was leaked. In the event of a parsimonious passenger trying to pass the sound off as valid payment, bus drivers have been told to politely ask for the fare without getting into an argument.
The memo made mention of an unnamed male passenger, who reportedly tried the trick on the 969 Citybus on a journey from Moreton Terrace towards Tin Shui Wai, the full fare of which is HKD21.40.
Unfortunately for him, the bus driver noticed his attempted “dood” deception, and asked him to cough up the cash. It seems to us that the red-handed rider may have anticipated his plan going south, as he reportedly relented without argument.
In response to the memo, some in-the-loop netizens commented that the “dood” trick had been around for 10 years.
Barrister Albert Luk told Sky Post that evading fare payment by imitating the Octopus card machine sound could constitute as intent to commit fraud, the maximum penalty of which is 14 years’ imprisonment.
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