News
AHEAD OF IDUL FITRI HOLIDAY
2.7m travelers expected for Jakarta mudik exodus as ticket rush begins
NU Online · Rabu, 4 Agustus 2010 | 07:16 WIB
Jakarta, NU Online
The yearly rush to book train tickets for the Idul Fitri exodus out of the capital officially kicked off on Wednesday, a railway official announced.
Sugeng Priyono, a spokesman for state railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia, said tickets for the long-distance trips, most of them to Central and East Java, would be available at automated ticket booths and would be payable through ATMs.r />
“We’re rolling out this online method to minimize the number of tickets bought up by scalpers,” Sugeng said as quoted by the Jakarta Globe. “We’re trying to sell more tickets online than at train stations, with each buyer limited to four tickets.”
The window for buying tickets has opened a month ahead of the expected exodus out of Jakarta, also known as mudik. Many people in Jakarta celebrate Idul Fitri, the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in their hometowns.
This year, the holiday falls on Sept. 10, while the peak of the travel period is expected to be around a week earlier.
Sugeng said KAI expected 2.7 million travelers to go by train this year, up 1.7 percent from the same time last year.
KAI is working with state postal company Pos Indonesia to provide automated ticket booths at 400 post offices across the country. The booths will be operational from 7 a.m. every day.
Sugeng denied speculation that KAI had increased its fares significantly in anticipation of the surge in demand during mudik.
“There will be no change of fare prior to or during Idul Fitri, including for economy-class trains,” he said, adding any last-minute fare hike would be up to the Transportation Ministry.
Tundjung Inderawan, the ministry’s director general of railways, said train fares would only go up at the beginning of October, as part of a scheduled increase that had nothing to do with Idul Fitri.
“We don’t want to burden the public with higher fares,” he said, pointing out that the run-up to Ramadan had already seen significant increases in the prices of basic foods and other commodities.
“The fares will certainly increase, but effective from October 1,” Tundjung said.
Meanwhile, Sugeng said that KAI was providing special railway carriages for motorcycles, as part of a wider government effort to discourage people from making the often long journey home by motorcycle.
Traffic accidents traditionally spike during the period of mudik, with the majority of casualties being motorcyclists.
The government has long campaigned for the use of trains rather than motorcycles for travelers planning to leave Jakarta.
The Transportation Ministry previously said it was outfitting trains to be able to cart up to 4,000 motorcycles from Jakarta to Central and East Java this year.
Although a significant increase from the 1,659 transported by train last year, it is far less than the 3.6 million motorcycles expected to leave Jakarta.
Djoko Setijowarno, a transportation expert from Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang, called on KAI to ensure comfortable travel.
“Last year, the toilets on board the trains were in a dreadful condition,” he said, adding that hygiene should be prioritized to prevent a spread of diseases. (dar)
The yearly rush to book train tickets for the Idul Fitri exodus out of the capital officially kicked off on Wednesday, a railway official announced.
Sugeng Priyono, a spokesman for state railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia, said tickets for the long-distance trips, most of them to Central and East Java, would be available at automated ticket booths and would be payable through ATMs.
“We’re rolling out this online method to minimize the number of tickets bought up by scalpers,” Sugeng said as quoted by the Jakarta Globe. “We’re trying to sell more tickets online than at train stations, with each buyer limited to four tickets.”
The window for buying tickets has opened a month ahead of the expected exodus out of Jakarta, also known as mudik. Many people in Jakarta celebrate Idul Fitri, the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in their hometowns.
This year, the holiday falls on Sept. 10, while the peak of the travel period is expected to be around a week earlier.
Sugeng said KAI expected 2.7 million travelers to go by train this year, up 1.7 percent from the same time last year.
KAI is working with state postal company Pos Indonesia to provide automated ticket booths at 400 post offices across the country. The booths will be operational from 7 a.m. every day.
Sugeng denied speculation that KAI had increased its fares significantly in anticipation of the surge in demand during mudik.
“There will be no change of fare prior to or during Idul Fitri, including for economy-class trains,” he said, adding any last-minute fare hike would be up to the Transportation Ministry.
Tundjung Inderawan, the ministry’s director general of railways, said train fares would only go up at the beginning of October, as part of a scheduled increase that had nothing to do with Idul Fitri.
“We don’t want to burden the public with higher fares,” he said, pointing out that the run-up to Ramadan had already seen significant increases in the prices of basic foods and other commodities.
“The fares will certainly increase, but effective from October 1,” Tundjung said.
Meanwhile, Sugeng said that KAI was providing special railway carriages for motorcycles, as part of a wider government effort to discourage people from making the often long journey home by motorcycle.
Traffic accidents traditionally spike during the period of mudik, with the majority of casualties being motorcyclists.
The government has long campaigned for the use of trains rather than motorcycles for travelers planning to leave Jakarta.
The Transportation Ministry previously said it was outfitting trains to be able to cart up to 4,000 motorcycles from Jakarta to Central and East Java this year.
Although a significant increase from the 1,659 transported by train last year, it is far less than the 3.6 million motorcycles expected to leave Jakarta.
Djoko Setijowarno, a transportation expert from Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang, called on KAI to ensure comfortable travel.
“Last year, the toilets on board the trains were in a dreadful condition,” he said, adding that hygiene should be prioritized to prevent a spread of diseases. (dar)
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