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Government plans fare cut for Palembang LRT to attract passengers
Transportation Minister Buki Karya Sumadi has said the government planned to cut the fare of the light rail transit (LRT) in Palembang to try and attract more people to use the new transportation service, which began operating during the 2018 Asian Games, which the South Sumatra capital co-hosted along with Jakarta.
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Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (right) speaks to a transportation official during a visit to Palembang on May 27, when he observed the development of the light rail transit (LRT) in the South Sumatra capital. (Courtesy of Transportation Ministry/-)
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ransportation Minister Buki Karya Sumadi has said the government planes to cut the fare of light rail transit (LRT) in Palembang, South Sumatra in trying to attract more people to use the transportation mode, whose operation started when the city co-hosted the 2018 Asian Games.
“We have decided to cut the fare from Rp 10,000 (66 US cents) to, for example, Rp 7,000,” Budi said in a press statement on Sunday, adding that the fare cut was part of a plan to integrate the LRT service with Palembang's public buses.
He said that under the new system, passengers would need to buy only one ticket to ride the LRT and buses.
“The trial for the integrated [system] will take place from November to December,” said Budi, as quoted by kompas.com, adding that headway for the trains would be shortened so that Sriwijaya University students could rely on the LRT as daily transportation.
He said that the Transportation Ministry would also operate 15 LRT feeder buses, and that the ministry would also extend the LRT operation hours from currently 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
With these improvements, the LRT was expected to become a more effective means of transportation for Palembang residents to rely on, Budi said.
“We want that the LRT to be more useful for people. The government has invested more than Rp 10 trillion in the LRT project, or 20 percent of the Transportation Ministry’s budget,” he said. (bbn)
