Minister demands law to combat ticket scalpers
JAKARTA (JP): In response to the rampant incidents of ticket scalping occurring over the recent holiday period, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Agum Gumelar pledged on Friday an all-out effort to stamp out the practice.
Speaking in an overview of transportation services during Christmas, Idul Fitri and New Year, Agum said he had asked the minister of justice and human rights to draft a law which sets heavy punishment for the ticket scalpers.
"I hate the practice of ticket scalping, especially after I heard reports that they threatened to set Gambir railway station on fire," an emotional Agum said. "I hope that the law will soon be realized."
The City Military deployed troops to guard Gambir and other railway stations across the capital following the threat.
Agum said the crackdown on ticket scalpers should be intensified, even though the holiday period had passed.
He also said that he had consulted with Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and the City Council to prepare harsh regulations aimed at eradicating ticket scalpers.
Ticket scalpers took advantage of a jump in the number of passengers by selling tickets at up to 300 percent above original prices.
Agum also warned state railway company PT KAI employees against encouraging the practice. He said one official at Cikampek railway station in West Java had already been dismissed for assisting scalpers.
He further said that his ministry recorded 78 cases of bus fare violations committed by employees of 50 companies. The government allowed a 25 percent increase in bus fares the week before and after Idul Fitri.
Of the offenses reported, prices varied between 10 percent and over 100 percent above the fare set by the government.
Agum said the errant companies would not be allowed to extend their licenses to expand on current routes for 42 months, and the buses would be grounded for 57 weeks.
Passengers
Ministry of transportation data, gathered between Dec. 20, 2000 and Jan. 3, 2001, revealed that the number of holidaymakers traveling to their home towns to celebrate Christmas, Idul Fitri and New Year totaled 13,494,405.
The figure was 9 percent lower than that of last year, which stood at 14,828,147.
Director General of Land Transportation Susmono Soesilo, who also attended the press conference, said that, during the holiday season, 248 traffic accidents occurred across the country, killing 199 people.
The number of accidents, he said, was 7.81 percent lower than last year, when 269 accidents were reported claiming 227 lives.
Susmono said most accidents were caused either by reckless driving or technical reasons, such as a flat tire.
Meanwhile, the flow of holiday makers returning to Jakarta was slowly declining on Friday at several train and bus stations in Java, while on the northern coastal road traffic accidents have claimed at least five lives with scores of others having been injured.
Antara reported that in Cirebon, West Java, two separate accidents on Thursday involved three buses and a Kijang van.
The first incident took place in the Eretan area of Kandanghaur, in Indramayu district, when two buses speeding from opposite directions collided on Thursday afternoon.
"A Mayasari bus heading for Jakarta collided with a PO Muncul bus which was speeding from the other direction. The crash was very loud and people ran to the assistance of passengers. Three people died instantly," an eyewitness was quoted as saying by the news agency on Friday.
The second incident took place later in the day on Jl. Ibu Tien Soeharto, also in Indramayu district. A Kijang van collided with a PO Sinar Jaya bus, killing two Kijang van passengers instantly.
Dozens of injured were treated at Indramayu hospital following the incidents.
In the town of Purwokerto in Central Java, the flow of passengers from the train station was declining with approximately 12,000 train and bus passengers expected to depart the city, headed for Jakarta, as of midnight Friday.
"The number of passengers shows a sharp downturn from the 15,000 up to Thursday night to only about 7,000 this Friday," said Supriadi, a spokesman for the Purwokerto railway station. (04/45/edt)