Scalpers, higher fares give travelers 'annual' headache
By I. Christianto
JAKARTA (JP): Every year the government allows bus operators to impose a surcharge on passengers which locals call tuslah during the Muslim Idul Fitri holidays.
The policy is intended as a sort of incentive for transport operators to render good services when an unusually high number of people scramble for transport to take them back home.
Every time, likewise, the annual tuslah policy becomes a headache as the operators intentionally charge a lot more than the allowed rate when millions of Indonesians travel round about the festive season.
To make things worse, the government although in a position to take punitive action against them is also in an awkward position because buses are urgently needed at this time.
Ticket scalpers at railway and bus stations are just another big annoyance for passengers. There, too, government can hardly take action.
Transportation during the festival of Idul Fitri is always colored with desperation although the service has been prepared months in advance. The government is set to deploy a massive fleet of buses, trains, vessels and aircraft for the season.
The government has predicted that 15 million people nationwide will travel around this year's Idul Fitri compared to the 18.49 million in 1998.
More than 65 percent of the total number of holidaymakers traditionally take buses to travel to their hometowns. Trains have become more popular since the price of plane tickets skyrocketed.
J.A. Barata, spokesman for the Directorate General of Land Transportation, said that bus operators were allowed to impose tuslah exclusively for services from and to the country's capital during the annual exodus, seven days before and after the Idul Fitri.
The philosophy of tuslah is based on a generous attribution to bus operators who must transport passengers from Jakarta to other areas at full -- and sometimes overly full -- capacity and return to the capital empty as soon as possible to collect other passengers. Every year passengers have to subsidize companies operating buses returning empty after they have been transported back home.
Millions of people, mostly those in the low-income group as well as casual workers, from the greater Jakarta area normally travel throughout Java and Sumatra in the weeks surrounding the Idul Fitri holiday. Some 1.2 million people are expected to depart from Jakarta by bus this year.
The government has set a tuslah of 35 percent this year much higher than the 25 percent set in 1998.
"This is due to the rise in spare parts prices since the outbreak of the economic crisis which affects bus operators. Secondly, the buses have to return to Jakarta, the hub of the annual exodus, sooner than ever, because fewer vehicles are now able to operate," Barata said.
He said that tuslah was introduced only for buses. "We offer discounts of between 10 percent and 20 percent for train passengers before and after the peak period to prevent chaos," he said, adding that the peak period occurred from Jan. 16 through 18.
He said that the government would take stern action against bus operators charging excessive rates if there was hard evidence.
"If proven guilty, a company is subject to sanctions such as having its license frozen for up to 24 months or being banned from expanding its fleet. However, we can only impose the punishment after the exodus is over."
To get rid of scalpers at train stations, the Jakarta operations area of the railway service has offered a reward of Rp 200,000 and a free ticket for anyone able to apprehend a scalper," he said.
Management
Barata said that the Ministry of Communications always prepared transportation for the Idul Fitri exodus long before Idul Fitri in order to provide a better service.
"This time we have been preparing it since August. This means that we, the officials and executives from the ministry and related state-owned companies, set to work long before other offices did," he said.
He said that the transportation began this year on Jan. 12 and will end on Jan. 27 as Idul Fitri is to fall on Jan. 19 and 20.
"We focus on land transportation in seven provinces: Lampung, West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java and Bali. Sea and air transportation services cover the whole country."
In addition to the peak season, services were also prepared during the return period predicted to last between Jan. 23 and Jan. 27.
"This year is very challenging due to the prolonged economic crisis. Only 60 percent of the total number of intercity buses can operate. There are only 93 aircraft, much less than the 175 that operated last year," he said.
According to Barata, the number of passengers is estimated to drop to some 15 million this year. The number of bus passengers is estimated to decrease by 15 percent to 10 million, while the number of air passengers to plummet by more than 35 percent to 326,000.
He said that the ministry of communications has prepared the transportation service in cooperation with the Armed Forces, National Police, the Search and Rescue Agency, and several ministries and provincial administrations.