Railways fed up with scalpers
Railways fed up with scalpers
JAKARTA (JP): The country's train operator, PT Kereta Api
Indonesia, is fed up with ticket scalpers at most of the train
stations in the capital, an official said on Thursday.
The company's spokesman, Gatot Widodo, said a major difficulty
for the firm to take the scalpers to court were the legal
procedures.
"Passengers have repeatedly complained to the company about
the matter. But a lack of evidence has made it difficult for us
to take them to court," Gatot said while visiting Gambir Railway
Station in Central Jakarta on Thursday.
The company, formerly called Perumka, also faced difficulties
in recognizing the scalpers since they dressed as passengers and
preferred to line up to get tickets, he added.
In order to limit the scalpers' business, he said, the company
occasionally announced, particularly during peak hours, reserved
train cars only an hour before departure.
"Another strategy is offering rewards worth Rp 200,000 cash to
people who are able to catch scalpers in the act," said Gatot.
Unfortunately, he said, there was no positive response to the
scheme.
Passengers and railway staff said scalpers usually packed
stations during the peak hours on Friday afternoons and Saturday,
Sunday and Monday mornings.
Gambir Railway Station was bustling on Thursday as people
bought tickets for the weekend.
PT Semen Cibinong, for example, booked 104 seats for the Argo
Lawu executive class trains which depart Jakarta for Surakarta on
Friday night, leaving many regular passengers unable to find
seats for the trip. The tickets were sold at Rp 115,000 each.
Scores of scalpers were seen standing near ticket booths,
offering tickets to passersby.
Two security personnel sitting on a desk in front of the
booths did nothing to stop the scalpers.
Bey Arif, Gambir's stationmaster, said he ordered the
ticketing staff to identify the scalpers and not sell them
tickets.
"But many passengers still need the scalpers' service," Bey
said.
Business-class ticket buyers, he said, were reluctant to get
in line and preferred buying tickets from the scalpers, although
the price was much higher.
"It raises the scalpers' spirit to sell tickets here," he
said.
A scalper, for example, offered The Jakarta Post on Thursday a
ticket for Argo Lawu's Solo (Surakarta) destination at Rp
170,000.
He claimed to have bought the tickets from a travel agent, who
set the price higher than the usual cost.
"Therefore, the ticket I sell to you is more expensive than
the actual cost," he said.
Gambir Station provides passengers with 45 executive and
business class trains for destinations, such as Bandung, Semarang
and Surabaya.
About 8,000 to 12,000 passengers use the trains at the station
per day. (asa)