On Wednesday, the 12th of June, Riga City Council decided to send the request from students to bring back discounts for single-trip public transport tickets to a committee for review, as reported by LTV News.
Students submitted a collective request in the middle of April. However, until now Riga City Council has objected to the students’ request to reduce the price for single-trip tickets.
The collective request mentions the major leap of the price of a single-trip ticket from EUR 0.30 to EUR 1.50, which is a significant financial burden for students in Riga.
At the end of 2022 Riga City Council introduced new public transport ticket prices. Now students no longer get a discount for single-trip tickets.
Instead students can use a discount on a monthly ticket, which costs EUR 15 for students.
Because lately more higher education institutions offer remote study options, most students travel to colleges and universities only a couple of times a month. This means getting a monthly ticket is no longer economical for students.
President of Latvian Students Union Liene Levada mentioned during a meeting with Riga City Council that stipends are small and students count every cent, which means EUR 15 for a monthly ticket is too much. “Stipend amounts are not going up – monthly stipend amount is only EUR 140,” said Levada.
Riga City Council deputies said they “understand students’ plight, but it is not possible to make any decisions about any discounts at this time”.
Deputies decided to pass this issue to the Traffic and Transport Affairs Committee.
Students, meanwhile, are confused why the collective request was submitted to the committee only now. Students also hope the issue will be resolved as soon as possible, considering that the start of the next school year is coming up soon.
Honour to Serve Riga (GKR) faction did suggest adding amendments to the municipality’s binding rules Regulations on Fare Facilitation in the Riga City Public Transport Route Network and provide students discounts.
According to the party, students have the right to receive a 50% discount for 90-minute tickets, which would reduce the price to EUR 0.75 for a single trip them. GKR Riga City Council faction leader Juris Radzevičs said this would be a compromise of sorts for the previously requested EUR 0.30 price per a single-trip ticket.
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