Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi paid a visit to Yogyakarta Tugu Station on Sunday (14/2) to witness the signing of the Public Service Obligation contract for economy class train tickets for 2021 and review the implementation of GeNose that has been operating for about two weeks.
During his visit to Tugu Station, Budi Karya also met representatives from UGM, Prof. Paripurna, Vice-Rector for Cooperation and Alumni, and GeNose development team, Prof. Kuwat Triyana and Dr. Dian Kesumapramudya Nurputra.
The meeting aimed to discuss further GeNose implementation plans at 44 other stations in various regions in Indonesia. The opening of GeNose service at six new stations, Gambir Station, Solo Balapan Station, Bandung Station, Cirebon Station, Semarang Tawang Station, and Surabaya Pasar Turi Station, started today (15/2) and marked the beginning of the plans.
“GeNose is an efficient and timely tool for today’s condition. It is principally easy, painless, and cheap, making it important for us to monitor. Moreover, it is an innovative product from local people, so we should support it,” said Budi Karya.
Budi Karya explained he would continue overseeing GeNose implementation in other places, not only at the stations. He said GeNose could be operating in other service facilities such as offices and airports.
Paripurna confirmed this, saying it would be on a gradual basis after solidifying the implementation at the stations. “Gradually, over the next month or two, we will continue to strengthen GeNose services at various stations. This stage is necessary because GeNose operation requires skills to provide safe and accurate services,” he said.
Didiek Hartantyo, Managing Director of PT KAI (Persero), said since its implementation at two initial stations, Tugu and Pasar Senen, GeNose received positive responses from the public. Therefore, the addition of services at various stations was one of PT KAI’s efforts to respond to this.
“We are currently improving the GeNose-related integrated system between PT KAI and UGM. We have made various efforts so that people will feel more comfortable and do not hesitate to use train services,” he explained.
Despite receiving positive responses and support from various parties, Prof. Kuwat Triyana, representing the GeNose development team, said his team is still improving as well. This includes stabilizing production to meet the required capacity and further research into GeNose implementation.
“From a technical point of view, we also continue to improve the performance. However, research should cover not only the tools, but also the implementation. This is mainly related to health protocols to avoid transmission during testing,” he concluded.
