Anticipate Returning Overseas with Various Mode of Transportation Options

Trains are people's favorite mode for going home. Other modes still provide tickets for Eid 2024 amidst the "ticket war".

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI (RAD)

Long-distance train passengers crowd the platform as they enter the train carriage at Senen Station, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (5/5/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – People are fighting for public transportation tickets to return to their hometowns to celebrate Eid with their families. Even though there are a number of people who have not received tickets to return overseas, at least they managed to secure homecoming tickets. Various precautions were taken, both by passengers and transportation mode managers.

In the midst of the busyness of the migrants, they are trying to secure access to going home. The fierce competition to obtain travel tickets has resulted in quite a few prospective passengers losing in the "battle" for ticket hunting, aka ticket war.

Also read: There is still a chance to get a homecoming ticket

For example, Fauzi (28), a private employee who managed to purchase a homecoming ticket using the Karya Sari bus worth IDR 360,000 from Jakarta to Purworejo, Central Java. He purchased the bus ticket a month prior to his departure on Saturday, April 6. However, Fauzi has not yet obtained a return ticket to his hometown.

"One of the reasons is because they are waiting for their holiday allowance (THR) to be disbursed. It is also for precautionary purposes for unexpected needs," he said in Jakarta on Tuesday (26/3/2024).

Fauzi anticipates his return tickets to Jakarta by adjusting the departure dates. If this method does not yield results, he plans to buy tickets directly from the nearest agent, even if there are additional costs. He believes that there are various transportation alternatives from Purworejo, so he won't run out of tickets.

RIZA FATHONI

Prospective passengers walked towards a long-distance bus that was about to depart from the intercity and interprovincial bus agency (AKAP) in Bulak Kapal, East Bekasi, West Java, on Thursday (30/7/2020).

Apart from buses, trains (KA) could be another option. However, his wish was dashed because of the difficulty in getting train tickets when many people were looking for them at the same time. The price ranges from IDR 300,000 to IDR 480,000, depending on the train schedule and class.

“Train transportation is clearly difficult. Only opened 30 days ago it was already sold out. "The free homecoming programs also immediately sold out because people were already aware of online ticketing," said Fauzi.

Also read: More than 227,000 Free Homecoming Tickets Provided by Ship, Train and Bus

The hunt for train tickets is not only experienced by long-distance train passengers. Similar conditions are also experienced by local train passengers with ticket sales starting seven days before departure.

"Always war tickets, even when it's not Eid, there are war tickets for the Dhoho Penataran train (Surabaya-Blitar route via Kertosono, East Java). "To make sure I get tickets, I always standby at 23.45 because tickets can only be accessed at 00.00," said Ignatia Niken (27).

To anticipate the scarcity of tickets, Niken is open to adjusting to the available tickets. However, if that method still fails, she switches to using a travel vehicle with guaranteed safety, even though the ticket prices are higher than those of the train.

MEDSOS KOMPAS/ANTONIUS SULISTYO P

The display on a person's computer monitor while ordering a train ticket on the PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) website.

Based on monitoring by Kompas as of Tuesday (26/3) at 11.30, the majority of homecoming tickets from west to east were sold out. This trip, among other things, starts from departure six days before Eid or on Thursday (4/4) for the Jakarta-Malang route until Monday (8/4). In the following days, there were still several connecting train seats remaining with longer travel times.

Based on the observation of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) until today at 07:30, the highest number of train tickets sold is for Saturday (6/4) or four days before Eid, amounting to 124,770 tickets. In second place is Sunday (14/4) or three days before Eid with a total of 118,966 tickets.

In accumulation, the total number of tickets sold for medium to long distance trains reached 1.86 million out of the available 3.4 million seats. The occupancy rate is 55 percent.

"The number of tickets sold will continue to increase as sales are still ongoing," said Vice Director of Public Relations of PT KAI, Joni Martinus.

Also read: Anticipating the peak of homecoming flows for Eid 2024

In a survey by the Transportation Policy Agency of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub), intercity trains were the public's favorite. There are 20.3 percent of the public or 39.32 million people planning to use trains as transportation Eid 2024. Just below that are buses at 19.4 percent; followed by private cars 18.3 percent; motorbikes 16.1 percent; as well as 6 percent rental car.

After that, other public transportation modes became an option. They are airplanes, accounting for 5.7 percent; ferries, accounting for 5.5 percent; travel cars, accounting for 4.3 percent; and sea vessels or passenger ships, accounting for 1.5 percent.

The rise of the aviation industry

Some people choose to take a plane to go to their hometown. Similar to other modes of transportation, the price of airplane tickets also increases during this peak holiday season.

As an immigrant, Fransiscus (28) stated that he already had his round-trip tickets to and from Jakarta in his possession about 1.5 months ago. He plans to return to his hometown in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan on Saturday (6/4) and will come back on Sunday (14/4).

"Hunting for tickets was relatively easy because at that time, people had not yet thought of buying tickets. So they were still available, although there was a price increase of around 20 percent, but the figure was not too high for the Eid holiday," he said.

Passengers who receive airport or airline services that do not meet the standards of applicable regulations can submit complaints to APJAPI via WhatsApp at 08888-127-127.

Also read: Eid 2024 Estimated Mobilization of 194 Million People

In order to pocket the plane ticket Citilink, Fransiscus spent IDR 1.5 million from his pocket for one trip. Under normal conditions, the cost of a plane ticket for this airline is IDR 1.3 million.

A number of airlines are specifically preparing to optimize flight services in the peak period of Eid 2024. Garuda Indonesia Group, one of them, provides 1.4 million flight seats during the homecoming and return flow periods which take place in Wednesday (3/4) to Sunday (21/4). This applies to domestic and international routes. The peak return flow is projected to occur on Saturday (6/4), while the peak return flow will be the following week, namely Saturday (13/4).

ALBERDI DITTO PERMADI

President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk Irfaniaputra

The President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, Irfan Setiaputra, stated that wide-bodied aircraft are also being optimized. The company has added at least 27,500 seats on domestic and international routes operated by Garuda Indonesia and its subsidiary, PT Citilink Indonesia.

The composition of available seats in Garuda Indonesia Group consists of 706,706 seats of Garuda Indonesia with the B777-300 ER, A330-300, A330-200, and B737-800 NG fleets. Meanwhile, Citilink will provide 710,660 seats served by A320 and ATR.

"It cannot be denied, the momentum of Eid al-Fitr is not only an important moment for us to contribute in bridging the need for safe and comfortable flight services. But, we also optimize the growth of passenger traffic during this period," Irfan said.

Also read: So that the friendship is not broken, prepare for going home seriously

Garuda Indonesia will focus on optimizing flight capacity to various favorite domestic destinations. Among them are Padang (West Sumatra); Palembang (South Sumatra); Semarang and Surakarta (Central Java); Yogyakarta; Surabaya (East Java); Denpasar (Bali); and Makassar (South Sulawesi).

Garuda Indonesia will operate 170 additional flights, while Citilink will add around 16 extra flights. Garuda Indonesia Group predicts a growth in the number of seats by more than 1.4 million seats in 2024. This figure represents an 18 percent increase compared to the 2023 Eid al-Fitr period, which amounted to around 1.2 million seats.

KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Officer activities at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang City, Banten Province, Friday (29/12/2023).

The Chairman of the Indonesian Air Passenger Service Association (APJAPI), Alvin Lie, urges airlines not to exceed the upper tariff limit. Tariff calculations are regulated in Minister of Transportation Decision Number KM106/2019 and Fuel Surcharge in accordance with KM7/2023.

Discipline in scheduling needs to be observed to prevent flight delays and even cancellations. Supervision of passenger baggage needs to be increased to avoid damage and loss.

"Passengers who experience airport or airline services that do not comply with applicable legal standards can file complaints to APJAPI via WhatsApp at 08888-127-127," said Alvin in writing.

Sea freight updates

Sea transportation is preparing to welcome the moment of Eid 2024. PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Persero) or Pelni projects the peak of the homecoming flow on Friday (5/4) and the return flow on Sunday (21/4 ).

Pelni's CEO, Tri Andayani, stated that they provide 26 passenger ships and 30 pioneer ships. The total capacity of all ships reaches 62,689 seats, including a dispensation for an average capacity increase of 52.6 percent per departure.

"We are rerouting ships to accommodate the increase in passengers on certain sections. "We are also making schedule adjustments to accommodate ship arrivals in certain areas," said Tri.

KOMPAS/YOSEPHA DEBRINA R PUSPARISA

The President Director of PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Persero) or Pelni, Tri Andayani (center), answered questions from journalists about preparations for the 2024 Eid al-Fitr homecoming in Jakarta on Wednesday (20/3/2024).

This year, Pelni equipped its fleet with a newship evacuation system. The new cruise data recorder (VDR) has been installed in a number of its fleet. This tool is similar to the black box data recorder in an airplane.

Another state-owned enterprise, PT Angkutan Sungai, Danau, dan Penyeberangan (ASDP) Indonesia Ferry (Persero), is also preparing the same thing. During this period, there are eight national routes with a total of 51 docks and 215 ships to serve the 2024 Lebaran homecoming.

ASDP CEO Ira Puspadewi projected that this year's holiday transportation will reach 5.78 million passengers and 1.37 million vehicles. Queues of vehicles during the peak of the homecoming rush cannot be avoided. However, the smooth flow of crossing traffic can be achieved if all parties are orderly and passengers have purchased their tickets at maximum one day before the trip through the Ferizy application.

Also read: 12 Pioneer Ships Withdrawn, Pelni Passengers for Eid 2024 Predicted to Decrease