The Ministry of Education has announced that the Cabinet has approved the full subsidy of increased bus fares starting this month for all students holding blue and yellow bus cards. In a statement, Aseri Radrodro, the Minister Responsible for Education, confirmed that blue card holders will receive a 100 percent subsidy, while yellow card holders will receive a 50 percent subsidy, alleviating any financial burden on parents.
Radrodro assured that students can continue to use their blue and yellow cards as usual. Blue card holders can start redeeming their cards immediately, with the Ministry committing to directly pay the full subsidy to Vodafone at the end of each month. For yellow card holders, parents will still need to top up their cards, with the Ministry covering 50 percent of the subsidy directly to Vodafone monthly.
He also noted that the existing restrictions on blue card usage will remain unchanged. These include:
– The blue cards are inactive during school holidays and on weekends.
– Restricted usage times for blue subsidised cards are from 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM and 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM.
– A 15-minute waiting period between taps for blue card users.