No more bus tickets to Sumatra available<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Bus tickets to Sumatra destinations from Feb. 8
\nto Feb. 25 are no longer available at Pulo Gadung and Rawamangun
\nbus terminals.<\/p>\n
An employee of the ANS bus company confirmed yesterday that
\nall the tickets have been sold. \"Passengers in groups had
\nreserved the tickets. We did not sell the tickets to scalpers or
\nbrokers,\" she said. ANS buses ply the Jakarta-Padang, West
\nSumatra route.<\/p>\n
Syafrudin, a ticket broker operating at the Rawamangun bus
\nterminal, said that all bus tickets for economy and business
\nclasses were sold earlier this year. \"People who were used to
\ngoing by plane are taking executive class buses this year,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Pulo Gadung and Rawamangun are the authorized terminals for
\nbuses plying the Sumatra routes.<\/p>\n
This situation has been used by ticket brokers to offer Idul
\nFitri holiday revelers private vehicles for rent.<\/p>\n
\"If you really want to go to your home town, I can manage it.
\nYou can go home safely for the same fee. That's the important
\nthing,\" he told a group of people who wanted to go to Padang.<\/p>\n
The normal fee a for non-AC (economy class) bus ticket to
\nPadang is Rp 40,000 per person.<\/p>\n
The business class tariff is Rp 75,000 per person and Rp
\n100,000 for executive class.<\/p>\n
All eight bus companies which have ticket sales counters in
\nthe two terminals, including the private bus company ALS and the
\nstate-owned bus company Damri (for Jakarta-Padang-Medan in both
\ndirections), have run out of tickets.<\/p>\n
Bus companies plying Central and East Java routes, such as the
\nPutra Gunung Kidul, Tunggal Jaya and Dahlia Indah, sell tickets
\nto prospective passengers just before departure. \"We don't offer
\na reservation service,\" a Putra Gunung Kidul bus company employee
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Some bus companies which have routes to Java distribute
\nmembership cards to people who always go to their hometowns for
\nthe Idul Fitri holidays. In certain circumstances the members get
\nprivileges for loyalty.<\/p>\n
\"Membership cards are not valid in the peak weak of the Idul
\nFitri celebration,\" an employee said. \"However if the members
\nwant to book all the seats on a bus it may be considered.\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some bus companies have complained about the
\ngovernment's decision to raise fares by 25 percent, saying that
\nthe increase is too small.<\/p>\n
\"People should pay more for the addition of the security
\nofficer,\" Andi, an officer of a bus company, in the Pulo Gadung
\nEast Jakarta terminal said.<\/p>\n
He said operational costs during the Idul Fitri will also be
\nhigher.<\/p>\n
The director general of land transportation at the Ministry of
\nTransportation, Soejono has warned bus companies not to increase
\ntheir fares.<\/p>\n
\"We will revoke operational permits if they violate the
\ndecision,\" Soejono said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said that his office had frozen the operational permits of
\n53 bus companies for 18 months last year for increasing fares
\nillegally.<\/p>\n
He added that if bus crews continue to violate the rules, the
\ngovernment will revoke their permits for good.(04)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-more-bus-tickets-to-sumatra-available-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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