Ticket-less travel in local trains

I wonder how less crowded the local trains would be if there were fewer ticket-less travelers. This morning I took a train from Andheri to Santa Cruz and it was way too crowded for 11:30 am. A ticket-checker in the first-class compartment rounded up 6 people for either travelling on a second-class ticket or traveling ticket-less.

One person jumped off the moving train on to the tracks! Others claimed they were new to the city and they didn't know the rules..etc.. None of that seemed to work of course. One person offered the TC a 100-rupee note. The ticket would have cost much less but the fine was much steeper. The TC refused to accept the bribe and the desperate passenger tried to touch the TC's feet to let him go. "Main Bhagwan Nahi Hoon (I'm not God)," said the TC asking the young man to not touch his feet.

I am all for ticket-less travelers in local trains to face the full wrath of the law. The trains are like sardine tins and bad enough without the free-loaders making them worse.