TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry is planning to grant subsidies of Covid-19 rapid tests for passengers of long-distance train routes. The agenda was being discussed with state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI).

“The provision of subsidies is aimed to develop trust in services for the public,” said the Ministry’s Director-General of Railway, Zulfikri, in a webinar on Thursday, September 17.

Zulfikri said his side was reviewing stimulus that would be given to operators. Yet he stopped short of detailing the budget.

Other than rapid tests, the ministry was mulling over other subsidies, such as on the operating payment during the first semester for certain trains and the addition of public service obligations (PSO) due to the limitation on the number of the passengers.

According to Zulfikri, the ministry must ensure that the train operation continued during the pandemic. From the business perspective, the company must also survive amid the dropping in the number of passengers.

He admitted that the pandemic caused a major impact on the service industry. Although the number of train passengers has increased since August, the occupancy rate per trip was still below 47 percent for long-distance trips and local routes.

“The number of passengers is still around 60,000. Ahead of September, it continues to decrease even though there are more trips,” Zulfikri said, concluding that the additional train trip alone was not enough to boost the occupancy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA