Train Tariffs to Increase Next Year

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry announced that train tariffs will increase on January 2015 as a result of the increase in subsidized fuel price. "There is no doubt that [train tariffs] will increase next year. We are also discussing changes in tariff with Kereta Api Indonesia [KAI]," said Julius Barata, the Transportation Ministry Chief of Communication on Monday, December 1, 2014.

He said that the price increase will range between Rp 3,000 to Rp 13,000, which means that the subsidized tariff that only applies for mid and long range train will be replaced with commercial tariffs. Meanwhile, the tariff subsidy will be allocated to local routes.

Anggoro Budi Wiryawan, the director of traffic and train transportation at the Railway Directorate General, said that the Transportation Ministry is currently on the process of revising the Transportation Minister Decree No. 28/2014 on Railway Tariffs. "Hopefully by mid December, [the Decree] will be fully revised," he said.

KAI is also planning to implement partial tariff mechanism with a lower and upper price limit. The system will be similar to the Jabodetabek commuter line pricing mechanism, where each passenger only pays according to their destination. Agus Komaruddin, KAI head of public relation for operational area I, said that partial tariff implementation was a compensation for the application of the new commercial tariff.

DIMAS SIREGAR | ROBBY IRFANY