Today, schoolchildren and students during the academic year can travel on Russian Railways trains with a 50% discount, which allows them to save a lot. These benefits are financed by the state, from January 1, 2013, the compensation may be canceled.
In August 2012, a draft of the main directions of budgetary policy for 2013-2015 was posted on the website of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The state plans to abandon support for preferential travel for students in suburban traffic, as well as in long-distance travel in general and reserved seat cars. It is not said directly about this, but measures are proposed to "reduce budgetary allocations to compensate for losses in the income of railway transport organizations."
The representative of the Russian Railways press service Gennady Verkhovykh said that Russian Railways was alarmed by the situation and considered it necessary to preserve benefits for full-time students and schoolchildren. However, Russian Railways does not consider it possible to finance the benefits at its own expense.
Undoubtedly, we are talking about big money, but JSC Russian Railways cannot be called a modest organization. Finding itself in the position of a monopoly, RZD itself sets tariffs and makes huge profits. At the same time, citizens pay taxes and have the right to hope that the state will take care of such socially unprotected layers of society as students and schoolchildren. Time will tell how the dispute between the monopoly company and the Ministry of Finance will end.
Earlier, the country's top officials said that the problem of travel for students must be solved, only at the end of 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev called on the regional authorities to meet students halfway. Before the elections, benefits were provided to students in some regions, in which they had not previously been, there was a 50% discount on travel on the upper shelves not only during the school year, but also during summer and winter vacations.
The question raised today about the abolition of travel benefits negates even these small achievements. First of all, the abolition of special rates will hit families with a modest income. Many will be forced to refuse to receive education in another city, social tension will arise in society.
