Richard Adamfi wrote:
Neil Williams wrote:

Fare-dodging isn't theft, as it doesn't deprive someone of the travel
you have "taken".

In England and Wales the illegality is in deliberately obtaining a
service by deception without making the appropriate payment (to use your
own word, "dodging" the fare rather than merely not having the
opportunity to pay it). It was a Theft Act 1968 offence ("obtaining a
pecuniary advantage by deception" but is now a Fraud Act 2006 offence
(which now seems to have at least three different ways of replacing the
older offence but the most direct replacement looks like s.11 "Obtaining
services dishonestly"). There is also the s.3 Theft Act 1978 offence of
"Making off without payment" available for use in appropriate circumstances.

In Scotland theft is a Common Law offence which IMU usually turns upon
the dishonesty of the action(s) in the relevant incident(s).

What I find curious is that you can end up with a criminal record for
fare-dodging, but not for avoiding parking charges.

It depends on how you avoid the parking charges.