Patrick Crozier

Oh come on this is straight forward enough.  It’s insurance against train cancellations in India, isn’t it?  Not quite:

“My favourite ticketing system was in Mumbai, India,” Kim enthuses. “No one actually buys a ticket, but you can buy ‘ticket insurance’ from private entrepreneurs who work at the entrance of the station.  The ‘ticket insurance’ is about half the price of a regular rail ticket.  It gives you a guarantee that, in the extraordinary event that you are booked by a railways inspector for taking a free ride, your fine will be paid.  A relative was once booked and the ticket insurer paid the fine exactly as promised.”

From the Sydney Morning Herald (Hat-tip: Marginal Revolution)