T

he opening of the Suramadu bridge in Surabaya is taking its toll, with PT Pewete Bahtera Kencana, one of six ferry operators in the area, having to lay off 23 workers due to plummeting numbers of passengers.

Pewete director Etty said Tuesday the layoff was a result of the company's decision to operate its two ferries, KMP Aeng Mas I and KMP Banyumas, in weekly shifts from last Saturday, after having operated daily since 1988.

"We've had to lay off 23 of our 120 workers because we're no longer running our ferries daily," she told The Jakarta Post.

The drop in passenger numbers is blamed on the opening of the Suramadu bridge that links Surabaya and Madura island.

Etty warned there was a possibility the company could stop operating altogether, thus leading to the dismissals of all its workers, should conditions worsen.

Prasetyo B. Utomo, head of ferry operator PT Indonesia Ferry ASDP that also serves the route between Ujung port in Surabaya and Kamal port in Madura, confirmed there was a marked decline in passenger numbers.

"The numbers have dropped to an average 30 percent of what they were, from 75 to 80 percent in previous days," he said.

Another ferry operator, PT Sindu Utama, is also reportedly planning to run its only ferry, KMP Niaga Ferry II, on a weekly basis, according to East Java River, Lake and Water Transportation Operators Association (Gapasdap) chairman Bambang Hardjo.

Should Sindu move ahead with its plan, there will be 14 boats left to ferry passengers between Surabaya and Madura.

Bambang warned more layoffs were imminent, unless the government joined the fray and helped resolve the problem.

"Most people now choose to cross the Madura strait by taking the Suramadu bridge, rather than using ferries," he said.

He added the ferry business employed around 8,000 people, directly and indirectly, including boat crew, parking lot attendants, porters, minivan drivers and street vendors, whose livelihoods around the Ujung port and Kamal port areas were now under threat following the opening of the toll bridge.

A Gapasdap survey conducted between June 17 and 21 showed the number of pedestrians crossing by boat was down from 25,000 to 12,500, motorcycles down from 10,000 to 5,000, and cars down from 5,000 to 700.

Meanwhile, state-owned bridge operator PT Jasa Marga recorded 25,000 motorcycles and 11,000 cars using the 5.4-kilometer bridge each day.

Bambang said the fallout could be minimized if the government increased the Suramadu bridge toll fees to "slightly below ferry fees", but did not name a specific figure that would be amenable.

The bridge's toll fees are Rp 3,000 (28 US cents) for motorcycles, Rp 30,000 for private cars and public transportation vehicles, and range from Rp 45,000 to Rp 75,000 for various types of trucks and buses.

Ferry crossings cost Rp 70,000 per car, Rp 5,800 per motorcycle and Rp 3,700 for pedestrians.