Article: Public transport concession rules for uni students eased

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From the Sydney Morning Herald click here!

Public transport concession rules for uni students eased

Public transport concession rules for uni students eased
February 20, 2013 - 4:24PM Jacob Saulwick

All full-time domestic university students in NSW will be able to receive concessions on public transport after the state government removed a requirement that they should not be in paid work at the same time.

The government has also removed a requirement for students receiving transport concessions to be enrolled in classes during the day, meaning master's and PHD students will also be able to receive concessions.

In practice, most universities ignored these requirements in the past, and most full-time domestic students who applied for transport concessions received them.

But this year some universities have started to apply the stricter eligibility criteria and deny transport concessions to students.

The University of Technology, Sydney, for instance, had told postgraduate students they will not be eligible for transport concessions.

The government now, however, has made the criteria more generous.

"The eligibility criteria for travel concessions have been around for many years and simply did not reflect how people live and study today – we need a commonsense approach," the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, said.

"Most people need to work casually or part time while they study to support themselves, and under the old eligibility criteria, those who worked were not actually eligible for a transport concession," Ms Berejiklian said.

"These days, tertiary institutions are offering classes at night so students can balance their study commitments with a casual or part-time job – it is ridiculous that in 2013 we would provide incentives for people not to have a job," she said.

While the eligibility criteria for public transport concessions are determined by the government, universities are responsible for issuing concession cards.

The government has also offered travel discounts for international students, who are not eligible for concessions but can save up to 35 per cent on MyMulti passes.