Pelni Records 214,000 Passengers Using School Holiday Ticket Discounts

State-owned shipping company PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) has recorded 214,000 passengers utilising a 30 percent discount on passenger ship fares during the 2026 school holiday period, reflecting strong public interest in affordable maritime transport services. “As of two weeks since the programme began, a total of 214,205 discounted tickets have been sold for various routes served by Pelni,” said Pelni Corporate Secretary Ditto Pappilanda in Jakarta on Wednesday. He explained that the Pelni ship fare discount programme applies to tickets purchased from 6 June 2026, with departure dates from 20 June to 15 August 2026. Through this programme, the public receives a 30 percent price reduction on the base fare of economy-class passenger tickets across all passenger ship routes operated by Pelni. Ditto assessed that the positive public response indicates the government’s transport stimulus policy is effectively improving maritime transport accessibility. He noted it demonstrates the high public demand for affordable sea transport and serves as an indicator that the stimulus programme provided by the government and implemented by Pelni is being optimally utilised by the community. Based on company data, the total projected number of passengers who will benefit from this maritime transport stimulus programme reaches 693,690 passengers. Meanwhile, actual ticket sales for the departure period of 20 June to 15 August 2026 have reached 239,214 passengers and are expected to continue increasing as the school holiday period approaches. To help the public understand the discount scheme, Ditto clarified that the price reduction applies to the base fare and does not include insurance or port pass components. For example, for a Surabaya–Makassar journey with a base fare of Rp309,000, passengers receive a discount of Rp92,700, or 30 percent of the base fare. Thus, the ticket price, originally Rp357,500 comprising the base fare, port pass, and insurance, becomes Rp264,800 after the discount. “This programme provides quite significant savings for the public, especially families taking advantage of the school holidays to travel,” he said. Pelni hopes this policy will increase public mobility while supporting economic and tourism activities in various regions. Ditto also reminded that the quota for discounted tickets is limited and will follow the allocation set by the government. Therefore, the public is urged to plan their journeys promptly and purchase tickets through official sales channels, given the high demand on several popular routes during the school holiday period. All passengers are also expected to prepare travel documents in accordance with regulations and arrive early at the port before the departure schedule. He encouraged the public to book tickets immediately through all official Pelni sales channels, including the Pelni Mobile app, Pelni website, Contact Centre 162, and other official sales partners. “Besides being safer and easier, purchasing through official channels also ensures the public obtains fares in accordance with applicable regulations,” Ditto stressed. Through this maritime transport stimulus programme, Pelni hopes more people can enjoy safe, comfortable, and affordable sea transport services during the school holiday period, while strengthening inter-regional connectivity in Indonesia.