In the North East of the UK I often get asked by beggars if I've finished with my Metro ticket (Daysaver), as I buy a yearly travel pass I never have one. This doesn't stop the same people asking me for one several times a week when I have to get off at a certain stop to go to the gym however.
They are there every day for hours on end, usually drinking. They are begging for tickets, taking them off machines (people often leave them for other commuters), fishing in bins etc. They are often doing this after 5PM~6PM on any day of the week, the Metro stops running between about 11:30PM and 12 or thereabouts.
The area they are scrounging in isn't particularly upmarket and I can't see anyone from that area wanting to travel into Newcastle for a night out on some of the days they beg.
What I do notice is they always have drink and there is a nearby corner shop. Maybe there is some involvement there.
How are they selling multiple Daysaver tickets with a few hours left on them on cold nights in an area where few people have money to go out?
I have seen one of them trying to sell a Daysaver to a woman trying to buy one at a machine (like you want to be accosted by some filthy alkie when you have your money out "Am sayin' Ye can have this if ye sort is oot with a quid... Am sayin'..."). I don't think there is enough custom for them to sell all the tickets they collect daily though.
It's been puzzling me for a while.
They are there every day for hours on end, usually drinking. They are begging for tickets, taking them off machines (people often leave them for other commuters), fishing in bins etc. They are often doing this after 5PM~6PM on any day of the week, the Metro stops running between about 11:30PM and 12 or thereabouts.
The area they are scrounging in isn't particularly upmarket and I can't see anyone from that area wanting to travel into Newcastle for a night out on some of the days they beg.
What I do notice is they always have drink and there is a nearby corner shop. Maybe there is some involvement there.
How are they selling multiple Daysaver tickets with a few hours left on them on cold nights in an area where few people have money to go out?
I have seen one of them trying to sell a Daysaver to a woman trying to buy one at a machine (like you want to be accosted by some filthy alkie when you have your money out "Am sayin' Ye can have this if ye sort is oot with a quid... Am sayin'..."). I don't think there is enough custom for them to sell all the tickets they collect daily though.
It's been puzzling me for a while.
Last edited:
. I've seen the old bloke sitting there at 7AM before throwing an empty cider bottle over his shoulder into the bushes.
