1. an animal with long ears
2. a 'hare'
3. try z

1. çàÿö
2. bezbiletnyy passazhir
3. áåçáèëåòíûé ïàññàæèð

Literally 'zayats' means 'a hare'. No idea why it came to mean 'a stowaway' in modern Russian slang. In the mindset of a Russian speaker this word is mainly associated with public transportation and namely bus, trolleybus and train service. In Soviet times a fare for a ride on a bus was relatively cheap (5 copecks, 1/20 of a rouble) and many people didn't pay all the same (a loaf of bread cost around 20 copecks at the time). These days the fares have risen dramatically (13-15 roubles for a ride, while a loaf costs around 12 roubles) and many poor people are even more motivated to travel as 'zaitsy'. But it's getting more and more difficult for the number of ticket collectors is constantly growing and the fine for being caught as 'zayats' is 100 roubles. Besides, these days more and more buses and trolleybuses have turnstiles installed at the exit so that only passengers with fare tickets can get in. This new practice is called ASKP (avtomatizirovannaya sistema kontrolya passazhirov). 'yezdit' zaitsem' means 'to travel without paying the fare (illegally)'