MP Cynthia Phua is fed up that her appeals for Polytechnic students to be granted higher transport fare discounts have failed.
To provide relief, the MP for Aljunied GRC is setting aside $1,500 of grassroots funds monthly for tertiary students whose family's household income is below $2,500 and who are not bursary holders.
About 30 applications have been received for the $150 vouchers - the number has not been decided - to be given every quarter.
'It's been said a lot of times, and I'm very frustrated about appealing. I am now resigned to creating my own help,' said Madam Phua.
In the past few months, she has heard more transport-related gripes from families with Poly students.
As a result of the Oct 1 fare hike, most commuters ended up paying four cents more per trip. They included Poly students, who are classified as tertiary students alongside those studying in universities. tertiary students pay full adult fares if they do not buy a monthly tertiary concession pass.
Poly students have, over the years, questioned why they pay more than their same-age peers in junior colleges (JCs) and institutes of technical education (ITEs), who enjoy student fares.
With recent price hikes, many Poly students such as Mr Bernard Chen, 23, are feeling the pinch.
The Temasek Polytechnic student has a $45 train concession pass and pays adult fares on buses. He now has to top up his ez-link card every four days instead of five.
'Choosing the Poly route doesn't mean that I should pay more. We are all students without an income,' said Mr Chen.
He is also the secretary of the Workers' Party Youth Wing, and touched on this issue at a protest organised by bloggers at Hong Lim Park last month. He said buying a $97 hybrid concession pass, which covers both bus and train travel, would be too costly as the amount is a third of his allowance.
While the price of the monthly tertiary concession pass did not go up in the recent hike, buying one costs almost double what other pre-university students pay.
The tertiary pass costs between $45 and $97, depending on the mode of travel - train, bus or both.
This compares with the $25 to $52.50 that students from JCs and ITEs pay for their pass.
Former Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Pang Khin Wee, 21, now doing his national service, was so irked by this 'unfairness' that he started an online petition three years ago. He collected 3,000 signatures in just a few hours and sent the link to TransitLink, which runs the concession schemes for SBS Transit and SMRT. He was told the feedback would be considered. The petition is still online, and there are more than 10,000 signatures to date.
Three Polytechnics - Singapore, Ngee Ann and Republic - said they hope their students can enjoy the same concessions given to those in the JCs and ITEs.
Temasek and Nanyang Polytechnics did not want to comment.
Other MPs The Sunday Times spoke to called on transport operators to exercise corporate social responsibility.
When contacted, a TransitLink spokesman said it exercises prudence in granting further concessions 'to avoid any adverse impact on full-fare paying commuters'.
Going by figures provided by TransitLink from March to August, the average amount collected from tertiary concession passes is more than $2.5 million a month.
Mr Gerard Ee, chairman of the Public Transport Council, said it encourages operators to give concessions.
'With the current economic climate, we will certainly encourage them to see whether it is within their means to do more,' he said.
'Hopefully, it doesn't fall on deaf ears now that more people have raised it.'
Do you think Poly students should be paying the same transport fares as JC students? Have your say at straitstimes.com
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