We recorded the average increase at only 19 percent as compared to the corresponding period in November 2021 when the average ridership reached 45 thousand passengers dailyJakarta (ANTARA) - PT Kereta Api Indonesia (PT KAI) served a total of 160,926 long-haul trip passengers during the New Year holiday period from Friday (Dec 31, 2021) until Sunday (Jan 2, 2022), a company official stated.
State-owned railway operator PT KAI's VP for Public Relations Joni Martinus noted that despite the company having anticipated a likely hike by allocating additional staff and trips, no significant increase was recorded in ridership during the period.
"We recorded the average increase at only 19 percent as compared to the corresponding period in November 2021 when the average ridership reached 45 thousand passengers daily," Martinus remarked in Jakarta on Monday.
With the daily ridership average during the three-day period reaching 52,642 passengers, they occupied only 69 percent out of the total 234,262 seats prepared, he explained.
Among the most popular trains during the period were the Airlangga train that serves the Jakarta-Surabaya route; Sri Tanjung train serving the Yogyakarta-Banyuwangi route; Kahuripan train operating on the Bandung-Blitar route, Jayabaya train serving the Jakarta-Malang route; and Malabar train serving the Bandung-Malang route, the company official stated.
Martinus reiterated that the company will stay consistent in enforcing health protocols at stations and on the train, including by allowing only passengers conforming to the pre-departure regulations to board the train.
The operator had denied permission to 8,554 passengers to board the train during the three-day holiday period, he remarked.
Of all the passengers denied boarding, 1,384 passengers had yet to complete their vaccination doses; 4,419 passengers under 12 years of age were without the COVID-19 PCR negative test certificates; 2,732 passengers failed to show their COVID-19 negative certificate; and 19 passengers exhibited symptoms of illness, Martinus stated.
Moreover, the railway company had served 844,782 long-haul passengers from Friday (Dec 17, 2021) until Sunday (Jan 2, 2022), with a daily ridership average reaching 49,693 passengers and occupancy rate reaching 63 percent out of the 1,330 million seats readied during the period, he affirmed.
The official attributed PT KAI's success during the New Year holiday period to the passengers having observed the prevailing regulation. He also expressed optimism that the company would continue to improve its service in 2022.
"KAI's service during the New Year's holiday period has been smooth and orderly, and passengers have also observed health protocols at the station and on the train. The success during the holiday period motivates us to serve our passengers better this year," Martinus affirmed.
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Translator: Adimas Raditya FP, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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