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State ferry operator enjoys spike in demand during holidays
The use of ferries is expected to increase with destinations across Indonesia benefiting from improved land connectivity.
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A ferry passenger looks across the water at Jakarta's skyline. JP/Rosa Panggabean. (JP/Rosa Panggabean)
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tate-owned ferry operator ASDP Indonesia Ferry saw a spike in revenue during the year-end holiday season, helping to boost the company’s earnings in 2019 with improved road connectivity across Indonesia positively impacting the popularity of sea transportation.
ASDP director of finance and information technology Djunia Satriawan said the holidays were expected to result in a 10 percent spike in the company’s revenue, helping it meet its Rp 3 trillion (US$214 million) revenue and Rp 271 billion net profit targets for 2019.
The projected earnings represent a 7 percent increase in revenue from Rp 2.8 trillion and a 6 percent rise in net profit from Rp 255 billion in 2018.
“Ferries were frequently overloaded during the night [over the holidays],” Djunia told a press briefing at the end of December.
ASDP offered special advantages to passengers who booked tickets online to reduce congestion at ports, with ferry passengers up 5 percent during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The advantages include shorter queues, separate lanes for cars as well as exclusive loading zones with boarding priority, he added.
The company expects to serve 2.2 million passengers, 306 thousand automobiles and 184 thousand motorcycles during the high-demand holiday season across 12 ferry ports in Indonesia.
The use of ferries is expected to increase with destinations across Indonesia benefiting from improved land connectivity.
One example is a ferry route between Merak port in Banten and Bakauheni port in Lampung, which was expected to see a significant increase in popularity after the completion of a toll road between Lampung and Palembang in South Sumatra, said Djunia.
The busiest ferry routes during the holidays are expected to include Merak to Bakauheni; Ketapang, East Java, to Gilimanuk, Bali; and Lembar, West Nusa Tenggara, to Padangbai, Bali, according to company projections.
Corporate secretary Imelda Alini Pohan said earlier this month that she foresaw a 5 percent increase in passenger numbers between Merak and Bakauheni to about 1.01 million, with the number of automobiles and motorcycles also increasing 5 percent to 173,000 and 31,000, respectively.
Therefore, the ASDP has prepared supporting infrastructure to handle increased demand, from ticket booths and motorcycle and car gates to added personnel at ports, she added. (mfp)
