JAKARTA/SINGAPORE – Singaporean manager Zheng Huang was shocked to find that his round-trip ferry ticket to Indonesia’s Batam island had soared to more than $70 over the past two years. The 53-year-old, who used to visit the holiday spot every weekend for dining and...
Special education teacher Farlyana Johari travels to Batam once a year. She is accompanied by Mr Gary Goh, a financial consultant, on a recent trip.JAKARTA/SINGAPORE – Singapore an manager Zheng Huang was shocked to find that his round-trip ferry ticket to Indonesia ’s Batam island had soared to more than $70 over the past two years.
Like Mr Zheng, other Singaporeans who make the hour-long journey have been left baffled by the steep hikes – uniformly imposed by multiple operators – after Batam, part of Riau Islands province, reopened to international travellers in January 2022 as the Covid-19 pandemic waned. Mr Ridho Pamungkas, the commission’s chief for the northern Sumatra region, told ST that four operators are under investigation for alleged cartel practices, with their Singapore-based parent companies yet to be summoned. Attempts by ST to contact the companies have been unsuccessful.
“The ferry operators’ management was uncooperative in providing data, making it difficult to gather evidence,” Mr Ridho said, adding that the parent companies being based in Singapore – and thus outside Indonesia’s legal purview – only complicated matters. BP Batam’s port management director, Mr Dendi Gustinandar, told ST that ferry ticket prices to non-domestic destinations had indeed increased post-pandemic.
Transportation Singapore CCCS/Competition And Consumer Commission Of Singa COST OF LIVING
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