the ticket that keeps on giving

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1. Coming home on the train a couple of months ago I noticed that they'd changed the ticket gates at my station. At peak hour under the old railway corporation the gates all used to be open, letting us crowds of pushing sheep through the turnstiles quickly. Now they are all shut, meaning every person has to fumble through bags to find tickets. Tempers fray. I feel claustrophobic. Mykis are swiped and rejected, swiped and rejected. Tickets shoved in hurriedly bounce back. The mob stretches back to the train carriages, at risk of spilling onto the track. 

Finally through the ordeal I burst out into fresh air. Ticket in hand I notice a group of girls at the ticket machine. I'm done for the day, so bowl up to them and ask if anyone would like a ticket. They look at me suspiciously. I have to repeat myself. One of them takes it gratefully, I've saved her $7. If I hadn't had to take my ticket out of my wallet to get through the gate, I probably would have walked straight past them and not even thought of it.

2. At the group interview for my amazing, fantastic job which I finally got, we were talking about what inspires us everyday. A girl talked about random acts of kindness, and mentioned she'd been given a train ticket after someone else had finished using it. It had saved her $7. It wasn't the girl I gave the ticket to, but it made me smile, thinking that maybe my action had inspired further action, a ripple effect. I know I'm not the only person in Melbourne who has passed on a train ticket, but it was such a great coincidence that I was hearing about it so soon.

3. On my way home from Queensland after a day of frustrating travel delays. The delays meant my lift home from the airport had fallen through, so I grumbled and paid for the $16 skybus to the city and then was about to buy another metcard at Southern Cross station, scrounging through my wallet for enough coins. A young guy approached me, and called me 'Maam.' He offered me his ticket which he'd finished with for the day. "It's only Zone 1, 2 hours" he said almost apologetically. Just what I needed to get home. I told him he'd made my day. 

I hadn't given my ticket in the first place in order to secure karma for myself. I hadn't done it to make me feel good. I never expected it to come back to me. But what goes around comes around.

These three incidences happened in the space of three weeks.

Now every time I'm done with my ticket I try to pass it on, but recently there hasn't been anyone at the machines buying one.  I stick it in the change slot of the machine, hoping the next person to come along will see it there.