Idul Fitri train passengers down more than 20 percent: Minister

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi announced Thursday that the number of passengers on trains during the recent Idul Fitri holiday period had dropped 22.49 percent from the 2.25 million last year to 1.75 million.

The data, which covered one week either side of Idul Fitri, contrasts with the trend of overall public transportation usage, he said.

“Overall, the number of passengers using public transportation in 2011 has increased 2.58 percent compared to last year’s figure — from 13.31 million to 13.65 million this year.

According to Freddy the decrease in train passenger numbers was mainly a result of the new carriage regulations introduced by state railway firm PT KAI.

Under the new regulations, each carriage is allowed to carry a maximum of 150 passengers at a time.