University Students Petition For Lower Transport Fares, Because They Are Still Students

As Singaporeans all know by know, the Public Transport Council have announced that transport fares will increase by 9 cents starting from 28 December, as some perverse Christmas gift. But Polytechnic students got it lucky, as the PTC also announced that they are entitled to concession fares that help make travelling via public transport more affordable. Polytechnic students’ transport fares will be capped at 63 cents for each journey, with no increase expected.

However, this does not apply to University students, as they will still be charged with adult fares which costs up to $1.48 for an average journey of 10 km. This does sound a tad bit unfair, as University students are still students, just like the polytechnic students. They don’t hold full time jobs, and thus, have no steady income to pay for the increase. In light of this, three undergraduates started a petition to appeal for university students to receive the same rights.

They argued that studying in university is more costly than studying in a polytechnic institution. The amount of student debt they will incur upon graduation will take them years to pay off. Since they are unlikely to afford private vehicles, they rely on public transportation to get to school. Although the argument might come across as a little elitist, you would understand where they come from. They are still students, so why are they charged fares like working adults?

The PTC should re-evaluate their definition of adults. In fact, the PTC should reevaluate the need to increase fares, seeing that they make millions every year.