Ride for FREE (mostly)

There's an app called "Transit Go" that you can purchase tickets for use on the Link Light Rail.  Because you can purchase these tickets in advance of the time you want to use them ( an hour in advance, a day in advance, etc. ) the tickets are not usable when you purchase them.  You have to 'activate' the ticket in order for it to become valid.

So here's the plan.  Purchase two tickets.  One for each direction of your trip.  Example: for your commute, purchase one ticket for "Othello to Westlake" and one for "Westlake to Othello".  Now those are on your phone.  Do NOT activate them.  Ride the train.  If fare enforcement boards the train, pull the correct ticket up on your phone.  Fare enforcement tends to work from the ends of a car to the center, so sitting nearer the center of the car gives you a better advantage.  If fare enforcement finds someone of interest before they get to you they may be occupied with them until you exit the train at your destination, or they may take them off the train and you are free and clear.  If it looks like they are going to get to you, just activate the ticket and you're golden.  Now purchase a replacement ticket.  Do NOT purchase 'round trip' tickets.  If you have to activate it you paid twice as much as you needed to.

Remember that fare enforcement doesn't like packed cars since they can't really move about freely in them, so the more people in your car the more likely it is that you won't be seeing fare enforcement.  Every trip that you take that you don't have to activate your ticket ... was FREE.

You're welcome.