In a post shared on a Twitter account on April 28, 2022, it was claimed that transportation in Konya is paid for Turkish students and free for foreign students.
It is possible to reach the details of the allegations on the website of Konya Metropolitan Municipality. On the Elkart information page of the Konya Municipality electronic transportation card, the necessary information is included in the section “Documents Required to Obtain a Personal Card Used as a Fare Collection System in Public Transportation”.
Accordingly, there are four different tariff types for Konya Municipality public transportation card handcard: discounted, prepaid, free and full. There are six groups that can take advantage of the “free card” service that provides free transportation:
Foreign Students Can Take Public Transport For Free
According to the explanations on how foreign students can benefit from the free elkart service: International Imam Hatip High School student of foreign nationality studying in Konya within the scope of the project of the Turkish Religious Foundation and the Ministry of National Education, Foreign university student enrolled in universities in Konya in the Higher Education Institutions System (YÖKSİS), Student who enroll in universities in Konya and receive language training can benefit from free elkart service. It is also among the explanations that foreign student who are not students of International Imam Hatip High School can benefit from this service only by defining their school student ID cards as elkart.
Turkish Students Benefit from Discounted Tariffs
It is also possible to access information about the situation of Turkish students from the same site. Accordingly, Turkish student cannot benefit from the free transportation card service and provide transportation with a discounted tariff. It is also among the statements made that foreign student’ right to free transportation ends if they acquire Turkish citizenship later on.
A research on who can benefit from the free transportation card type in other municipalities reveals that a similar practice is carried out by Kayseri Municipality, including foreign students.
