Minister demands law to combat ticket scalpers

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)