Many Complaints, This Is The Cause Of Expensive Train Ticket Prices In Indonesia

Train. (Doc. Antara)

YOGYAKARTA – People are once again complaining about the high cost of train tickets in Indonesia. These complaints are mostly made on social media Twitter. Then what exactly causes expensive train ticket prices?

Complaints about Expensive Train Ticket Prices

As is known, many netizens have complained about the high price of train tickets, one of which is the account owner @EllaZefa. Through his personal account, he complained about the price of train tickets which were considered to be more expensive than airplane tickets.

In his upload, the account owner also included a screenshot of the price of a train ticket for the Gambir-Surabaya Pasar Turi route. In addition, he also includes a screenshot image that includes train ticket prices and flight ticket prices with the same city route.

It can be seen that the price for the executive train from Gambir to Surabaya costs from IDR 735,000 to IDR 825,000. While the flight ticket prices displayed are using Batik Air and Citilink with the cheapest ticket price of IDR 827,787,000.

"Well @KAI121, why are train tickets more expensive than airplane tickets? It's better to take a plane at this time, it saves time anyway. (the effect of train ticket price protests) cc @kemenhub151," tweeted the account @EllaZefa, Monday, January 30.

[Askrl] Tiket kereta eksekutif (Surabaya - Jakarta) sekarang seharga atau bahkan lebih mahal dari tiket pesawat 😭pic.twitter.com/XfsWaMx6L8

— Askrlfess (@Askrlfess) January 30, 2023

The same complaint was also submitted by other netizens. In one of the posts, PT KAI's official account, @ KAI121, answered the complaint. According to this account, commercial train ticket rates can change at any time according to the date and month of departure.

"Good afternoon Sis and I'm sorry. Commercial Train ticket fares are dynamic/can change at any time, adjusting the date and month of departure. However, it still refers to the upper/lower tariff limits that have been determined. Thanks,” Tuesday, January 31.

Complaints like this do not just happen once, but several times. In early January 2023, complaints regarding train ticket prices also attracted attention on social media Twitter. Then what causes expensive train ticket prices?

Expensive Train Ticket Prices

The executive director of the Institute for Transportation Studies (Instran), Deddy Herlambang, gave the reason for the soaring price of train tickets. According to him, there are several reasons for PT KAI's ticket prices, namely as follows.

1. Not Received Fuel Subsidy

Deddy Herlambang said that the absence of diesel fuel subsidies for KAI had caused an increase in KAI ticket prices.

"The burden for KAI in 2022 is 73 million liters of non-subsidized fuel. The last price is Rp. 27,000 per liter, a significant increase in fuel prices," said Deddy, Saturday, January 7, quoted from Kumparan.

2. TAC charged

PT KAI also has to pay a Track Access Charge (TAC). TAC itself is a system used to calculate the nominal fees that must be paid by PT KAI to the Government for the use of infrastructure in the form of railroads.

The TAC paid by PT KAI is considered too expensive to the point that it has an impact on increasing train tickets. According to the new regulation of the Minister of Finance (PMK) Number 138 of 2021, KAI must pay a TAC of IDR 2.4 trillion. This figure is known to be higher than the old rule of IDR 388 billion.

3. IMO payments

The Contract for Maintenance and Operation of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure (Infrastructure Maintenance and Operation) or IMO must be paid to KAI without being paid by the State Budget. Meanwhile, the IMO shortfall from the APBN is predicted to reach around IDR 2.5 trillion.

That is information regarding expensive train ticket prices. To get other interesting information, visit VOI.ID.