Student Concessions on Public Transport - Victoria Nation's Worst

The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) has today released details of its report on student concession travel on public transport.  Details include rankings for access to concession travel for each Australian state and territory.

Topping the list is the Northern Territory, with students enrolled with Charles Darwin University and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education enjoying the nation’s fairest arrangements for concession travel on public transport.  Postgraduates, international students, part-time and externally enrolled students all have access to concession travel simply by presenting a current student ID.  Concession fares are also available to tertiary students visiting from interstate, marking The Territory as the most student friendly destination in the nation.

Other preferred destinations for students include Flinders University, UniSA, The University of Adelaide and The University of Tasmania.  Concession travel is available to full-time students in South Australia and Tasmania on presentation of a current student ID. South Australia also welcomes visiting tertiary students who are currently enrolled interstate.

Western Australia, Queensland and the ACT fare well, with most postgraduates and international students enjoying full access to concession travel.  New South Wales and Victoria rank lowest for access to student concession travel, with Victoria taking the wooden spoon for completely excluding postgraduates and full-fee paying international students from access to concession travel.

“This is an issue of fairness” CAPA International Student Officer, Sally Dongping Huang, said.  “It makes no sense for international students and postgraduates to be treated differently.  Places like Melbourne would be a more attractive destination if international students were allowed the same transport concessions as other students.” 

Students in Victoria have organised a rally and march to the Victorian Parliament at 1pm tomorrow (Wednesday April 29^th), to deliver their petition to the Premier (visit www.gsa.unimelb.edu.au for full details).

“This is an opportunity for students in Victoria in particular to have their voice heard. This is not just an issue for students, it is an issue for those universities and those states who are serious about attracting students to study at their institutions” CAPA President, Nigel Palmer concluded.

CAPA also announced today the launch of a national online petition to allow people from each state and territory to share their views on this issue.  Full details are available at www.capa.edu.au/transportconcessions.