The mood in the carriage changes in an instant when ticket verifiers accompanied by the police come rushing through the carriage door. Commuters respond by scratching in their bags and pockets whilst eager eyes are browsing over the tickets.

Travelling on a train without a valid ticket is becoming a serious offence; a R40 offence depending on the officer’s discretion.

“Kom menee’ ek hettie heeldag tyd ’ie. Waa’s jou ticket? Het djy ’n ticket?” a stocky built policeman asks a commuter who’s unconvincingly looking and scratching in his bags. “Ok djy hettie n ticket ‘ie. Het djy n veetag ran’ of ek kap jou toe?” the policeman threatens with a stern look on his face.

“Wag menee’ man ek kyk gou. Ek kanit somma nie kry nie die way menee’ aangan. Relax man,” the guy says to the officer.

The train takes a bend and the policeman adjusts his stance in order not to lose his balance. A ticket appears from the guy’s bag. The officer looks at it for a second without taking it from the guy, looks at him again and says “Wat try djy? Djy kan ma’ saam kom,” as he grabs the guy on his upper-arm.

Commuters are quietly looking on.

“Ek kan mos ’n ticket koep. Die ou het dan ’n machine hiesa,” the train-snatcher tries to explain pointing towards the ticket-verifier.

At Salt River station the officer and train-snatcher leave the carriage along with other offenders.

As the train exits the station a lady looks up from her newspaper, turns to her friend and says: “How can someone snatch a baby and make everybody believes it’s her child for eighteen years? The judge is not going to be to kind with her in my opinion,” she says.

“I don’t want to be in her shoes,” the friend replies.

“My phone is gone. Somebody snatched my phone!” a guy with a French accent suddenly shouts while he earnestly searches his pockets at the same time suspiciously looking around him.

“That guy without a ticket was standing close to you,” another commuter replies. “The one the police took away,” she continues.

The French guy looks out the window but Salt River station is long gone… There’s no turning back now.

***

Urban Dictionary

veetag – The Afrikaaps version of the Afrikaans word veertig
which means forty (40).

koep – The Afrikaaps version of “koop” which means “buy”.

hiesa – The Afrikaaps version of ‘hierso’ which means “right here”.

“Kom menee’ ek hettie heeldag tyd ’ie. Waa’s jou ticket? Het djy ‘n ticket?”
“Come on mister, I don’t have all day. Where is your ticket? Do you have a ticket?”

“Ok djy hettie n ticket ‘ie. Het djy n veetag ran’ of ek kap jou toe?”
“OK, you don’t have a ticket. Do you have forty rand? If not, I will have to lock you up.”

“Wag menee’ man ek kyk gou. Ek kanit somma nie kry nie die way menee’ aangan.”
“Wait sir, I am quickly having a look. I now can’t find it, the way you are carrying on.” (Implying the policeman’s rush made him nervous.)

“Wat try djy? Djy kan ma’ saam kom.”
“What are you trying? You might as well come with me.”

“Ek kan mos ’n ticket koep. Die ou het dan ’n machine hiesa.”
“I could buy a ticket. This guy does have a ticketing machine right here.”