The youth wing of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Karnataka took to the streets of Bengaluru on Wednesday, launching a vigorous campaign to demand discounted travel passes for students on the city's Namma Metro. The protest unfolded near RC College on the busy Palace Road, highlighting the growing frustration among the student community over high metro fares.
Student Commute Crisis in the Silicon Valley
State president of the AAP youth wing, Lohith Hanumapura, articulated the core issue. He stated that exorbitant metro ticket prices are preventing students from fully utilizing the service. With Bengaluru's notorious traffic snarls, many students face daily struggles to reach their colleges and universities on time, which inevitably impacts their academic performance. The campaigners argue that providing concession passes is an urgent necessity, calling for immediate action from both the state and central governments.
Signature Drive Gains Momentum
The campaign kicked off with significant on-ground support. On its very first day, the activists managed to gather approximately 600 signatures from supportive students. However, this is just the beginning of a larger mobilization effort. The youth wing has set an ambitious target of collecting at least 1 lakh (100,000) signatures. To achieve this, they plan to visit multiple schools and colleges across the city in the coming days and weeks.
Umesh Gowda, the vice-president of the AAP youth wing, urged students to amplify the campaign's reach digitally. He encouraged everyone to use their personal social media accounts to create public pressure on the government, turning the offline signature drive into a widespread online movement.
The Financial Burden on Students
The demand for student concessions is not new but has gained renewed intensity following a metro fare hike in February last year. The current fare structure places a heavy financial burden on regular student commuters. For instance, a student traveling more than 15 kilometers daily could be spending anywhere between Rs 3,360 and Rs 4,320 every month solely on metro tickets.
While Namma Metro offers incentives like a 5% discount during peak hours and a 10% discount during non-peak hours for smart card users, it has notably not introduced any special discounts or concession passes for the student community. This absence of a targeted relief measure is the central point of contention for the protesting students and the AAP youth wing.
The campaign underscores a critical urban mobility challenge in India's tech capital, positioning affordable public transport as essential for education and the city's future workforce.
