A student tapping their bus card

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad has confirmed that the total additional estimated cost for transportation subsidy for students is around $23m for the financial year 2024-25.

His comments come as cabinet in its meeting yesterday agreed that government fully subsidize increased bus fares effective from September 1st for all students with blue and yellow bus cards.

The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission has completed the review of the existing bus fares and adopted a new fare calculation methodology in consultation with the Fiji Bus Operators Association.

Under the new methodology, FCCC has recommended that student fares be the same as adult fares.

A student tapping their bus card

The DPM states that Cabinet has approved that no additional cost will be borne by any student, or their families and government will subsidise the additional increase in the fares.

Prasad says currently, the regulated student fare is 50 percent of the adult fare at every stage.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad

Prasad says as part of the transport assistance programme, Government currently fully subsidises the transportation cost for students from families with household incomes of less than $16,000 per annum.

He says apart from bus services, this scheme also covers for Rural Service License operators and boat services in the rural and maritime schools.

Prasad says in the 2024-25 Budget, Government has allocated a total budget of $37 million to cater for the transport assistance.

“With the doubling of student fares, the additional cost exposure for subsidised students with “blue cards” is projected to be around $18.0 million. Apart from this, there are currently non-subsidised students with “yellow cards” paying the full fare (50 percent of adult fares). With the bus fares doubled, the additional cost to these students will be around $5 million.”

There are currently around 90,000 students benefiting from this programme.

Prasad says the current funding provision in the budget will accommodate the increased cost for approximately six to seven months of the new financial year and Cabinet has approved that additional funding will have to be sourced through a budget redeployment later during the year.