Man tries to skip paying bus fare with Octopus card sound

Citybus has issued an internal memorandum to its drivers, urging them to be wary of passengers who try to skip the payment of bus fares by imitating the “dood” sound emitted by an Octopus card machine to signal the completion of a transaction.

A Facebook group of Hong Kong bus riders uploaded a copy of a Citibus memo, which relates the case of a male passenger who pretended to have paid the bus fare by playing the “dood” sound on his smartphone when he boarded a 969 bus from Moreton Terrace to Tin Shui Wai, Headline Daily reports.

The bus fare for the 969 bus line is HK$21.4.

The bus driver, however, noticed the “dood” sound was different from the usual tone coming from an Octopus Card machine.

Realizing that no transaction had taken place, he asked the passenger to pay the bus fare and the man did so without putting up an argument.

A Citybus spokesperson confirmed that the incident took place, and the company issued the internal memo for bus drivers to keep an eye on such shenanigans.

According to the Citibus guidelines, bus drivers should politely ask passengers to pay the fare in case of any attempt to skip payment.

Lawyers said any attempt to imitate the Octopus card machine's “dood” sound for the purpose of skipping payment of a transaction is an act of deceit, which is an offense under the Theft Ordinance punishable with a prison term of up to 10 years.

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