Cross-border Mobility, Damri Bus Company's Support

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The revenue of the state-owned company Damri is largely supported by activities in border areas, particularly in Kalimantan. In addition, community mobility is not only from the western region to the east but also vice versa. The tourism sector is developing due to the unique attractions in each region.

Reflecting on 2024, passenger mobility for Perusahaan Umum Damri buses was largely supported by border areas. This high demand occurred in Kalimantan, which directly borders Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

"In Kalimantan, it is actually quite high, especially during Eid al-Fitr, with cross-border travel to Brunei Darussalam, Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysia), and Timor Leste. Timor Leste is not too high, but it seems that people from Kuching enjoy vacationing in our country," said Damri President Director Setia N Milatia Moemin during a press conference on preparations for Eid al-Fitr 2025 at the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Jakarta, Tuesday (25/2/2025).

Residents of Kuching, for instance, often use Damri buses to travel to Singkawang via Entikong, West Kalimantan. They take advantage of the Eid al-Fitr moment to meet with relatives in Indonesia.

"Well, that's usually quite a high flow at that time. Right now it's also our backbone in terms of cross-border revenue," Setia said.

In addition to Kalimantan, other regions on the islands of Sumatra and Java also serve as primary destinations for travelers during Lebaran. Some of the favorite cities among the public include Yogyakarta, Malang, Surabaya, and even Bali.

Currently, Setia continued, Damri buses are also a mode of intercity interconnection transportation. The route starts from Palembang (South Sumatra), continues to Bandar Lampung (Lampung), then to Jakarta or Bandung (West Java), Surabaya (East Java), and Bali.

The party is designing a plan so that passengers can travel from the western to the eastern end of the archipelago. The strategy is expected to be implemented in Lebaran 2026, such as the Eurail Global Pass or Europass, which is a travel ticket to cross Europe.

"We are trying to make (a concept) like Europass, but we are still working on this. Hopefully, it will be ready by next year's Eid, so people can travel from the tip of Sumatra," said Setia.

Perum Damri also provides its fleets to accommodate the final stage of the passengers' journey (last mile). In Yogyakarta, for example, Damri buses serve train passengers who stop at Tugu Station to go to surrounding cities that are not served by the train.

For city trips, the state-owned company also has more than 1,000 fleets on standby. Reflecting on the 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year holidays, many people from eastern Java go to Jakarta. This is because Jakarta offers a variety of attractive holiday facilities.

"So in Jakarta itself, we still have to be on standby because the experience from Christmas and New Year yesterday, it turned out that travel within the city, not only urban areas in Jakarta, was high. People were traveling, looking for entertainment, and so on. So we still provide it," said Setia.

According to data from Perum Damri, around 2.81 million customers are projected to use the bus. The figure is higher than Christmas and New Year 2024/2025 of 1.38 million customers. Intercity buses are the fleet that is most deployed, namely 355 units with 257,129 seats available.

Currently, Perum Damri applies flexible rates for bus tickets. This means that the closer to the holiday, the higher the ticket price. However, Setia is trying to ensure that the ticket increase is not too significant.

"We also apply a 10 percent discount. We still provide several backup buses in several rest areas," Setia said.

For the homecoming flow on March 17-20, 2025, Damri is giving a 10 percent discount for all routes. The discount only applies to purchases via the Damri application or Damri Apps. The same thing applies for the return flow on April 2-4, 2025. Normal rates apply during Eid al-Fitr, namely March 30-April 1, 2025.

Like the previous year, Damri buses will also accommodate the homecoming transportation program with BUMN. This year, they will work with 25 agencies to transport 14,400 homecoming travelers.

Budget cuts will impact the availability of pioneer transportation, even though these fleets are the main transportation for people in disadvantaged, outermost, and remote areas (3T). However, Perum Damri is still waiting for the decision of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) as the party that gave the assignment.

"The question of how many percent has not been decided. So, we are still waiting, but perhaps hopefully it will not be made efficient, because actually the transportation there is very, very efficient, very minimal even. So, perhaps not all (buses) can be operated (if efficient)," said Setia.

Setia said, Damri is the mainstay of the 3T region community for mobility, such as the Halmahera and Papua regions. He hopes that budget cuts will not impact assistance for residents in remote areas.

"But, the decision is from the Ministry of Transportation, not my domain. We are only operators. However, we hope that the government will pay more attention. In Papua, for example, teachers cannot go to school if we are not operating," said Setia.

When budget cuts occur, he ensures that the operational fleet of pioneers will also be reduced. However, his party is still waiting for the government's decision. This is because the pioneer fleet is a trigger to drive the economy in the 3T region. Price disparities between regions can also be reduced with the existence of pioneer transportation.

"The question of how many percent has not been decided. So, we are still waiting, but perhaps hopefully it will not be made efficient, because actually the transportation there is very, very efficient, very minimal even. So, perhaps not all (buses) can be operated (if efficient)," said Setia.

Executive Director of the Transportation Study Institute Deddy Herlambang said the government is obliged to provide funds for pioneer transportation. Because, the budget that is directly related to the community should not be included in the budget group that is cut.

"If possible, it should be added for pioneers, especially during Eid. The mobility of people traveling is certainly high. Don't cross it out if it is done, it is a blunder. Infrastructure should be advancing, but instead it goes down (level)," said Deddy.

He warned that budget cuts for infrastructure would not be effective. Instead of being efficient, costs could balloon because studies and evaluations tend to be repeated over and over.

At the same time, local governments (Pemda) can encourage large companies in the regions, such as nickel companies in Konawe (Southeast Sulawesi) to budget corporate social responsibility funds or CSR. The funds can be allocated to finance similar pioneer transportation in the regions.

"That's good will, the government must also provide a solution. Pioneer transportation stimulates people to be mobile, so that there is a revival of the regional economy," he said.

Previously, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi promised that subsidies for public transportation and pioneer transportation would remain a priority. This is to ensure smooth accessibility, social welfare, and the sustainability of affordable and inclusive public mobility for all levels of society.

"We will ensure that vital transportation services for the community, especially in remote areas, continue to run well," said Dudy.