Undercover cops checking passes on the tram...Are you kidding me?

Getting arrested and publicly humiliated by an undercover cop on the tram for not having a pass? Check.


After over 2 weeks of riding the trams in Melbourne for free, we have come to realize that they actually do check passes to ride...We just didn't realize that they used undercover agents to do the checking! I thought that those undercover guys were only used for big jobs, like stopping a drug ring or possibly to protect the president. But now from personal experience, if you don't have any money and you ride the trams in Melbourne, keep an eye out for the Undercovies (as Natalie and i like to call them). After flying back into Melbourne from Cairns, B and I decided to venture into the city to find a place that sold the Star Wars Trilogy...and I won't go into much detail about why we were doing this, but let's just say Brian has never seen Star Wars! The poor boy! Once finding this out I took it upon myself to introduce him to some of the greatest movies ever. But while riding the tram into the city, 2 large men approached us and whipped out badges...just like they do in the movies! But it wasn't a movie and the men definitely felt the need to show their manliness. They asked us where we were headed and thankfully I decided to leave the Star Wars part out of my answer. But we told them we were from the states and were sorry for the misunderstanding. They were not happy with our answer at all and told us it was a "serious offense" to ride the trams without a pass and they were going to "discuss what to do with us". I'm not gonna lie, it was kinda exciting. Meanwhile, however, there was about 30 other people on the tram that were staring at us...the 10 minute ride with the manly cops and the 30 pedestrians staring was a bit uncomfortable. Good news is I am not in an Aussie jail - I told the officers I was Barack Obama's brother and they decided to drop all charges :)


Much love,
Ryan


PS - We did immediately go to the nearest 7-11 and purchase a week tram pass. It set us back 29 dollars but it is good to know we won't be brushing shoulders with the Undercovies anymore :)