Passengers complain about ticket scalpers at PT Pelni

Passengers complain about ticket scalpers at PT Pelni

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

People wanting to return to their hometowns by ship have
already found it very difficult to buy tickets at the state-owned
shipping operator PT Pelni and at travel bureaus.

"I'm very disappointed with Pelni's service; they should have
been better prepared for the peak season like this, but they have
not learned from past experience," said Idrus Albar, who planned
to return to his hometown in Ternate, to celebrate Idul Fitri
with his relatives.

Idrus is one of tens of thousands of people who want to
celebrate the religious festivals of Lebaran or Idul Fitri, and
Christmas, in their hometowns outside Java island.

He said last Friday that he had to go back and forth from his
home in Grogol, West Jakarta, to try and book tickets. Having to
go to the PT Pelni ticketing building at Kemayoran on two
consecutive days just to get a form for a ticket, really got on
his nerves.

"This is just for the form, not the ticket! When I was here
yesterday, they told me they had already run out of forms and
told me to return on (Friday) .... Well, here I am, and they
still don't have any," he said.

Prior to purchasing a ticket, buyers are required to fill in
forms detailing their basic personal information, destination,
and the desired class.

In the peak season such as now, filling in the form does not
guarantee a seat on the vessel, and the forms of those who are
rejected are returned by the office's security guards.

"Even if I do get a form, I cannot choose a second-class
ticket as I've wanted, as they have already sold out. But I'll
settle for any ticket ... as long as I can use it for traveling
to my hometown," he said, adding that he was wondering why all
tickets for ships bound for Ternate were sold out just two days
after the ticket counters had opened.

"I'm sure they all went to scalpers. They seem to have bought
tickets to almost every destination and are ready to sell them to
would-be passengers at much higher prices," he said.

Tickets for December 10th onward are nearly sold out, both for
seats in all classes and in economy, especially for destinations
in eastern Indonesia.

At the Pelni ticketing building in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta,
scalpers are too obvious to be missed, openly offering their
services to anyone who will listen. The persistent ones will even
follow potential customers, telling them repeatedly about the
guaranteed tickets they have on offer.

"Which destination? I still have some class-seats for eastern
Indonesia destinations," said one scalper when the Post passed
him. But purchasing the tickets from the scalpers means adding
another Rp 100,000 (US$ 10.50) to the original price.

Uly Simatupang, who, together with her relatives, wanted to go
to Medan on Dec. 14 for Christmas, also found it very difficult
to buy tickets at travel bureaus.

"All the travel agencies I contacted told me that they could
not sell tickets yet. I've been told to call them next week. But
even if we get tickets, they are likely to be non-seat tickets,"
she said last Friday. By "non-seat tickets" she meant economy-
class ones, which guaranteed neither bed nor cabin in which to
sleep on the ship.

According to director of PT Pelni Isnoor Haryanto, the
shipping company had increased its capacity by 33 percent for the
holiday season, prioritizing the most-busy destinations, such as
Belawan port in North Sumatra and Makassar, Central Sulawesi.

From December to Jan. 15, 2002, Pelni will be operating an
additional 29 vessels, and aims to transport 36,796 passengers.

However, tickets are still scarce and said to be already sold
out, even 14 days before the departure date.

38-year-old Ida, who planned to go to Medan, North Sumatra, on
Dec. 16 was told that there were no more tickets for that date.

"According to Pelni's regulations, tickets are sold 14 days
before the departure date ... how come tickets for Dec. 16 are
sold out already?" she commented, saying that she would now try
to buy a ticket for a bus to Medan.

"Although I would prefer to go by ship, I will not buy a
ticket from scalpers. I don't want to have to pay more, while I
still have to sleep on the floor of the vessel," she asserted.