Hundreds of University of Melbourne students have been told they are no longer eligible for public transport concession fares. This is a result of the new "Melbourne Model" at the university, which now defines several courses (such as medicine and law) as postgraduate study.
The March 2 Age said the changes made “the full-time students ineligible for student concession cards and forced to pay double their previous public transport costs".
The Age said students enrolled at other universities that do the same courses still qualify as undergraduates, and therefore do get transport concession cards.
Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen told The Age: ''If someone is studying full time, it does make sense to make concession fares available to them. You shouldn't expect full-time students to be paying full-price public transport fares, it will encourage fare evasion and driving."
Melbourne University Resistance Club President Denis Rogatyuk told Green Left Weekly: “Concession cards should be a basic right for all students, as full fares are a lot of money for a student.
“We also need to campaign for concession cards for international students."