Dear Urban Diplomat: am I a jerk for skipping the TTC farebox line?
I was in the Queen subway station recently and encountered a long lineup, so I did that move where you sneak past people mumbling “Sorry” and dump your fare into the can. One guy yelled, “Oh, only you have places to go?” and I got the stink eye from someone else. What am I supposed to do—wait interminably as trains pass by?
—Line Dancer, North York
The only thing you did wrong was apologize. Queuing is for those who need assistance from the attendant. All you needed was a split-second of his or her attention, but not so much as to delay the distribution of change, Metropasses, tokens or directions to the CN Tower. Blame rests squarely with the TTC and its prehistoric technology. The way I see it, you have two choices next time you’re contemplating the TTC sneak: do exactly as you did before, replacing the mumbled apology with a confident “Excuse me” while taking care to avoid elbowing or bumping anyone. Or, if you really can’t stand the glaring, stock up on tokens when you’re not in a rush and deposit one in the automatic turnstile. It’ll spare you significant TTC-related grief, of which there’s already a surplus.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/urban-diplomat-line-dancer/&title=Dear Urban Diplomat: am I a jerk for skipping the TTC farebox line?&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/urban-diplomat-line-dancing.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_301240" align="alignright" width="292"] (Image: Bryson Gilbert/Toronto Life Flickr Pool)[/caption]Dear Urban Diplomat,
I was in the Queen subway station recently and encountered a long lineup, so I did that move where you sneak past people mumbling “Sorry” and dump your fare into the can. One guy yelled, “Oh, only you have places to go?” and I got the stink eye from someone else. What am I supposed to do—wait interminably as trains pass by?
—Line Dancer, North York
The only thing you did wrong was apologize. Queuing is for those who need assistance from the attendant. All you needed was a split-second of his or her attention, but not so much as to delay the distribution of change, Metropasses, tokens or directions to the CN Tower. Blame rests squarely with the TTC and its prehistoric technology. The way I see it, you have two choices next time you’re contemplating the TTC sneak: do exactly as you did before, replacing the mumbled apology with a confident “Excuse me” while taking care to avoid elbowing or bumping anyone. Or, if you really can’t stand the glaring, stock up on tokens when you’re not in a rush and deposit one in the automatic turnstile. It’ll spare you significant TTC-related grief, of which there’s already a surplus.
Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com){kind=link}
You are supposed to jump the line for assistance as it is the same line to pay your fare if you have the fare ready. Lining up unnecessarily causes over-crowding.
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Their fault for not thinking of it sooner. Ever find money on the ground, and have people glare at you when they realize they could have picked it up? Same idea. Nobody wants to wait in line, you just found a way around it. Effectively, that makes you a supreme being – making anyone not in need of assistance, who is waiting in line, an inferior being by default.
The opinions of the inferior should not concern you. I’d just smile at them to annoy them for my own entertainment.
One time I tried to hop the turn style with my transfer and went head first to the floor. So you’re approach is probably
We have opened a page about TTC failures to provide us decent service, we have much bigger issues to deal than to worry about skipping a line. Check us out on Facebook. #ttcfail
This has always been done. Lining up when you have the exact fare will just cause a longer queue. Next time someone mouths off to you, just tell them to bring exact change or shut up.
You think it’s bad now? Wait until those ticket-takers start accepting credit card payments.
Most people standing at the teller make sure they leave room for others to pass by (and if they don’t, they should). That’s how it’s done. You’re fine.