TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Governor tells Batam-Singapore ferry operators to slash fares
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Ferries are seen at Sekupang International Ferry Port, Batam, on March 17, 2020. (JP/Fadli)
R
iau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad is asking four ferry operators plying the Batam, Bintan and Karimun to Singapore routes to cut fares after ticket prices more than doubled during the pandemic.
A return ticket from the islands to Singapore has increased from Rp 450,000 (US$30.41) to around Rp 1 million.
Ansar said he had met the operators' representatives to reduce fares within this week. “Once they do so, we will announce it,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday
The governor has also sent an official request letter to the operators, namely, Horizon, Sindo, Majestic and Batam Fast based on Law No. 17/2008 on efficient and affordable maritime transportation.
“[Lower prices] will increase the number of tourists to Riau Islands,” Ansar said in the letter.
The Batam Tourism Agency held a ceremony last Wednesday to welcome the first travelers from Singapore’s HarbourFront international ferry terminal arriving at Batam Center Ferry Port in Batam, after more than two years of the pandemic.
Singapore had shut HarbourFront in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HarbourFront is a waterfront district situated in southern Singapore.
With the reopening of the HarbourFront-Batam route, the port has returned to full operation. During normal operation, the port saw 49 ferry trips between the two ports each day, with average weekend traveler numbers of more than 5,000 people.
