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Editorial: Bus and train concessionary fares should be relooked
Transportation is expensive, with bus and train fares climbing steadily, but polytechnic students are still paying adult prices up to 89 percent more than what their pre-university counterparts pay.
Three years ago, a Ngee Ann student created an online petition calling for a fare reduction. More than 27,500 signatures have been collected since, but nothing has changed.
In 1977, students from Singapore Polytechnic and the then Ngee Ann Technical College petitioned Singapore Bus Services (SBS) to charge pre-university and polytechnic students the same fares.
SBS answered: “If we grant the concession to Poly and Ngee Ann students, we might have to extend this to the universities. This will mean a loss of $3 million to $4 million a year. Straightaway, we would run in the red.”
Last year, SBS Transit and SMRT Corporation posted a combined profit of more than $200 million. Can they still justify the price difference?
Concessionary fares should be standardised for all pre-university and tertiary students.
Related links
- High bus fares for poly students petition
- Facebook group for the petition
- The Online Citizen: Poly students want fairer transport fares
- Youth.sg: When is a poly student not a student?
- STOMP Talkback
- Clubsnap Kopitiam
- Hardwarezone Forums Eat-Drink-Man-Woman
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Tags: bus, Concessionary fares, fares, Ngee Ann Technical College, poly, polytechnic, pre-university, SBS Transit, SMRT Corporation, tertiary, train Discussion
5 comments for “Editorial: Bus and train concessionary fares should be relooked”
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[...] Written for npTribune. [...]
“If we grant the concession to Poly and Ngee Ann students, we might have to extend this to the universities. This will mean a loss of $3 million to $4 million a year. Straightaway, we would run in the red.”
I would think that the top minds at both SMRT and SBS know that there is a difference between studying in a polytechnic and a university. Though both tertiary institutions, it is no secret that universities are on a higher level.
A quick look at the difference between starting salaries of diploma and degree holders would tell you this. It is so obvious that its painful.
Even if they claim that working adults are also part-time polytechnic students, then why not just grant full-time polytechnic students concessions? After all, students are students and are not able to work full-time.
Surely, the refusal to grant (or rather, the refusal to even TRY to grant) polytechnic students the right to subsidized transport must stem from…something else, perhaps?
But what exactly?
And if they are going to charge us higher rates, couldn’t they at least make sure no one jumps on the MRT tracks because it causes everyone to be late?
TYVM.
Concession passes –> Given based on age –> Problem Solved.
Well, I’m thankful no one jumps in front of buses.
have some restictions or by age.
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