Some celebrate holiday by ripping off travelers<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Travelers heading to their hometowns to celebrate the Muslim's
\nIdul Fitri holiday have always been a great target for fraud by
\nboth bus operators and ticket scalpers, and this year is no
\ndifferent.<\/p>\n
The government's floor and ceiling bus fares of 20 percent
\nlower and higher than the normal price respectively -- which is
\neffective seven days before and after the Idul Fitri on Dec. 6
\nand Dec. 7 -- are useless as most bus operators set it far higher
\nand sometimes collude with scalpers to go even higher.<\/p>\n
PO Selo Katon bus operator in Lebak Bulus bus station, South
\nJakarta, has sold tickets for Rp 80,000 each from the regular
\nprice of Rp 55,000 to Klaten, Central Java. Similar practices
\nhave also been reported by PO SariIndah which heads to Ponorogo,
\nEast Java.<\/p>\n
Erna Rosida, an officer of the Indonesian Consumers
\nOrganization (YLKI) who monitored the ticket sales at Pulo Gadung
\nand Kampung Rambutan bus stations in East Jakarta, said she was
\ngiven death threats by bus operators when she queried them.<\/p>\n
\"Don't provoke the passengers or I'll kill you,\" Erna told The
\nJakarta Post, quoting PO Handoyo's officer when she was trying to
\nconfirm complaints from a passenger who had to buy a ticket from
\nthe operator which serves the Jakarta-Tegal route.<\/p>\n
Similar threats were also experienced by another YLKI officer,
\nKurnia, in Kampung Rambutan bus depot. She said some 10 ticket
\nscalpers and drivers tried to intimidate her said her activities
\nwere causing \"problems\".<\/p>\n
In all the bus stations, it was difficult to distinguish
\nbetween official bus operators and scalpers as all of them wear
\nuniforms. But the scalpers often force travelers to buy bus
\ntickets from certain operators, who they are in collusion with,
\nso they can get about a 6 percent commission from each ticket
\nthey sell.<\/p>\n
\"They are annoying, because the force people through
\nintimidation to buy tickets from certain bus operators. One of
\nthem even physically dragged me to a certain ticker seller,\" said
\nEndang, a 22-year old girl who was heading to Kebumen, Central
\nJava.<\/p>\n
In the railway stations, ticket scalpers still operate freely
\nin offering tickets at exorbitant prices to desperate travelers.
\nThey are not difficult to find as they will approach when someone
\nlooks confused and desperate.<\/p>\n
\"Which ticket do you need? Bandung or Surabaya?\" a ticket
\nscalper asked an undercover journalist at the Gambir railway
\nstation.<\/p>\n
\"I'll give you an executive train ticket for Rp 110,000
\n(US$12.3) only considering this peak season condition.\"<\/p>\n
He laughed heartily after being asked to lower the price to Rp
\n60,000, even though the official price is Rp 45,000.<\/p>\n
State-owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI)
\nclaims it had nabbed 23 ticket scalpers in cooperation with the
\nCity Police.<\/p>\n
\"We caught the scalpers during our operations in Jatinegara
\nrail station, East Jakarta, and Gambir rail station last Friday,\"
\nsaid head of security at PT KAI's Jakarta division, Djinandir on
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Similar tough actions have also been said to be taking place
\nby state-owned ship company PT Pelni by terminating its contract
\nwith 12 travel agents.<\/p>\n
\"So far we have terminated contracts with 12 travel agents
\nwhich were involved in ticket scalping activities for the Idul
\nFitri exodus period,\" PT Pelni spokesman Pelni, Abubakar Goyim,
\ntold the Post Friday.<\/p>\n
\"The termination left some 40 authorized travel agents to
\ndistribute our tickets in Greater Jakarta. But we won't hesitate
\nto drop more cheating travel agents.\"<\/p>\n
PT Pelni introduced a new system this year at its ticketing
\nservice center in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, where would-be
\npassengers must first take forms from a special desk. They must
\nthen present copies of their identity cards with the completed
\nforms to get a copy of their queue number. Nine counters are
\nready to serve ticket buyers, who must wait before their queue
\nnumber appears on an electronic screen.<\/p>\n
Similar systems have been applied at PT KAI's ticket
\nreservation center on Jl. Djuanda, Central Jakarta, to control
\nscalpers more effectively.<\/p>\n
Djinandir said he had yet to catch any scalpers at the
\nreservation center but the security personnel had expelled
\nhundreds of cohorts who work for the scalpers.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, the increase of travelers at several bus stations
\nincreased by around 10 to 20 percent from normal days. Head of
\nKali Deres bus station in West Jakarta, Jhonny Barata, estimated
\nthat the exodus would reach its peak on Sunday and Monday.<\/p>",
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