Fuel Scarcity in North Sumatra Disrupts Freight and Bus Services

A shortage of fuel in North Sumatra has disrupted freight and bus services from Medan to various destinations. Freight service operators have complained of an average 25 per cent increase in operational costs, including additional allowances for drivers and assistants stranded in hours-long queues for fuel. Rajamin Sirait, owner of the freight and bus company Persatuan Motor Horas (PMH) in Medan, said the fuel scarcity is disrupting the regional economy as the supply of goods to and from North Sumatra is delayed. He gave the example of PMH trucks departing Medan between 7pm and 8pm each night, which should arrive in Pekanbaru, Riau, the following day at around 10am, and vice versa. “However, due to the diesel shortage, they are forced to queue at public filling stations for up to four hours,” Rajamin told Tempo on Thursday, 16 July 2026. The restriction on diesel purchases to 200 litres per fill means PMH trucks and buses on the Medan-Pekanbaru route must refuel again in Rantau Prapat, Labuhan Batu Regency. “In fact, the diesel requirement for Medan-Pekanbaru is 450 litres one way. Because purchases are limited to 200 litres with a barcode, trucks and buses have to refuel one or two more times mid-journey. The problem is, many filling stations along the Trans-Sumatra highway are currently closed because fuel supplies are empty,” he said. Rajamin urged Pertamina to be honest and admit that fuel supplies to North Sumatra are limited, causing many filling stations to operate on a rotational basis. He said the quota system for fuel distribution to filling stations results in some stations opening and closing intermittently. “This causes customers to flock to a single filling station, creating queues,” he said. He also suggested that the barcode purchasing system be abolished, as it has been in Aceh Province, arguing it is not suitable for expedition trucks and buses. Monitoring by Tempo observed long queues of trucks, buses, and motorcycles still occurring at SPBU 14.202.185 Amplas. A truck driver named Tony Siregar said he had parked his truck since 6:00 a.m. and was forced to queue for three hours just to get 150 litres of diesel. “If I don’t fill up this morning, I won’t be able to leave for Sipirok tonight,” he told Tempo. Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sumbagut Area Manager Communication, Relations, & CSR Fahrougi Andriani Sumampouw did not respond to Tempo’s messages and calls. However, on Wednesday, he explained that the queues were caused by the resumption of school activities and increased public movement, leading to a 5 to 10 per cent rise in fuel demand compared to the average daily consumption. “Pertamina Patra Niaga ensures that fuel distribution services at all filling stations in the Medan area and its surroundings have now returned to normal operations. The increase in fuel demand in recent days has occurred in line with rising public activity,” Fahrougi told Tempo on Wednesday, 15 July 2026. Fahrougi said Pertamina Patra Niaga had increased distribution capacity by adding tanker trucks, strengthening distribution personnel, and optimising operations so that services at filling stations are back to normal. In addition, he said operations at the Medan Fuel Terminal and several filling stations have been optimised for 24 hours to accelerate fuel distribution to the public. Fahrougi claimed these efforts had yielded results, with fuel distribution since Sunday, 14 July, increasing by 104 per cent from the daily target, with the operation of 149 tanker trucks.