Bengaluru: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) youth wing launched a campaign near RC College on Palace Road Wednesday demanding discounted student passes for Namma Metro.“The student community is unable to fully utilise Metro facilities because of the extremely high ticket fares. With traffic snarls in Bengaluru, they struggle to reach colleges on time, and this also affects their academic performance. Therefore, the state and central govts must immediately provide concession passes to students,” said Lohith Hanumapura, state president of AAP youth wing.
The campaigners, who managed around 600 student signatures on the first day, aim to collect at least 1 lakh signatures by visiting multiple schools and colleges. “Everyone must use their personal social media accounts to put pressure on the govt,” youth wing vice-president Umesh Gowda told students. Students have been demanding discounted passes, especially after the Metro fare hike in Feb last year. Depending on the distance travelled, students who travel more than 15km need to spend anywhere between Rs 3,360 and Rs 4,320 every month on tickets. While those who buy smart cards get a 5% discount during peak hours and a 10% discount during non-peak hours, Namma Metro has not introduced any discounts for students so far.
