We, the students of Sussex-based academic institutions, petition Southern Railway Ltd to extend the UniZone area, adjust their Terms and Conditions of eligibility to include all students and to reassess the two zones and pricing structure of the UniZone ticket.

Currently, all students must purchase a 16-17 or 16-25 Railcard to be eligible for the UniZone ticket, which not only requires the purchase of a separate discount card (~£30.00) but also excludes part-time mature students, studying less than 15 hours a week, from benefiting from the UniZone scheme.

In addition, some students are disadvantaged by the scheme based on the current pricing structure and zone restrictions, where they are required to buy two separate tickets to enable them to travel to their place of study.

Finally, the scheme is not accessible to all students based on the location restrictions and makes travelling sustainably, unaffordable for a large proportion of students in Sussex. This particular issue was raised previously by Caroline Lucas in the House of Commons in 2015.

We request that Southern Railway:

• Change the UniZone Terms and Conditions to only require a letter from the student’s institution confirming their student status
• Extend the Unizone:
  • West to Chichester
  • North to Three Bridges (to include the area between Chichester and Three Bridges)
  • East to Ashford
• Reconsider the zoning structure and pricing scheme of the UniZone so that students don’t have to buy 2 different tickets for their journey to their place of study.
• Consideration of zone pricing (like the underground), by the number of stops travelling or by a central, east and west location
• Consideration of extending the UniZone ticket to a ticket less than one week; either 2 or 3 days.

Signed:

• Brighton Students' Union (22,000 students in Brighton & Eastbourne)

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