TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government will increase the subsidy budget or public service obligation (PSO) for PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) in 2018. The state-owned railway company will get a 14-percent budget increase to Rp2.39 trillion, up from 2017's Rp2.09 trillion.
The PSO increase contract was signed in Jakarta on December 28, 2017, by the Transportation Ministry's director general of railways Zulfikri and KAI president director Edi Sukmoro.
Zulfikri hopes that the increased budget will allow the public to enjoy better railway services at an affordable price.
Under the contract, the economy-class train service is subsidized by the same value as the previous year. The train tariffs for 2018 are also the same as in 2017.
Zulfikri said that from the subsidy budget in 2018, the largest allocation is still given to the Commuter Line. This is in line with the government's program to shift mass transportation from road-based vehicles to railways.
"It is estimated that in 2018, the average number of commuter line passengers will increase by 9.6 percent per day to around 877,000 people," he said.
DIAS PRASONGKO
