On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, the Directorate General of Railways' Public Relations hosted an NGOBRAS (chat with media and community) event at the Wyndham Hotel. The event was titled Optimizing South Sumatra LRT Services. Bringing together audiences from the media and communities in Palembang.  

The event was moderated by Aditya Yunianto. The Head of Utilization of Facilities and Infrastructure of the South Sumatra Light Railway Management Center (BPARSS) announced who the speakers were, and the topics that would be presented. 

The first material was delivered by the Head of BPKARSS Rode Paulus, who provided an overview of the South Sumatra LRT's achievements over the past year, as well as how service development has been carried out. 

According to Rode, the number of passengers has increased significantly over the previous year. It reached 3 million in 2022, and BPKARSS reported a 700.000 passenger increase yesterday at the end of November 2023. "We are optimistic that we will reach 4 million by the end of December," he said. 

Several factors contributed to the increase. Namely, strengthening the core sector through train tickets, to non-core such as asset management, rental of MSME tenants, and festival activities that attract passenger interest. "We see that some of these businesses have contributed significantly to the increase," he said. 

The presence of seven feeder routes also makes riders of the LRT feel at ease. According to the data, 30% of people use the feeder and then connect to the next mode of transportation with LRT. "In the future, according to the direction of Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, there will be some kind of additional route or a review of existing routes to be transferred to new routes," he said. 

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Palembang Transportation Agency, Agus Supriyanto, delivered the second material, which was related to integration with other modes of transportation as a form of support for the optimization of LRT. "The LRT has become the backbone of transportation in Palembang." Of course, we will give more emphasis in 2023," he said as he began his presentation. 

Agus stated that the current transportation issue is the lack of adequate angkot, buses, and feeders. "We have to admit that it is not perfect. However, we will continue to prioritize feeders in particular. We manage two corridors with 15 units each. Of course, this is a positive effort to support LRT," he said.  

The Palembang City Government is continuing to prioritize South Sumatra LRT services. "One of the things we need to improve is our facilities." "Like parking, we will continue to conduct studies with BPKARSS to determine adequate parking pockets," he explained. 

Meanwhile, Elsa from Kompas.Com, one of the participants, inquired about BPKARSS's future work program and priorities. In addition to asking questions, Elsa also criticized the inadequate service on the train.