Pattingalloang : Jurnal Pemikiran Pendidikan dan Penelitian Kesejarahan
Vol. 13, No. 2 (2026)

From Direct Routes to a Transit System: Operational Changes of PO Curug Sewu on the Kendal-Semarang Route, 2009-2019

Kansa Angelia Putri (Universitas Negeri Semarang)
Putri Agus Wijayati (Universitas Negeri Semarang)



Article Info

Publish Date
17 Aug 2026

Abstract

PO Curug Sewu was one of the intercity, intra-provincial bus operators serving the Kendal–Semarang corridor in Central Java. Since the late 1980s, its buses connected communities in Kendal with Semarang through Weleri, Kendal, Kaliwungu, and the northern coastal road. During the 2000s, this long-established service pattern encountered a changing transport regime in which terminals and publicly managed mass transit gained a more prominent role in regional mobility. This article examines the operational transformation of PO Curug Sewu between 2009 and 2019, focusing on the changing reach of its route after the operation of Mangkang Terminal and the introduction of Trans Jateng on the Semarang–Kendal corridor in late 2019. Using the historical method, the study draws on route permits, vehicle monitoring cards, timetable documents, fare records, contemporary newspapers, and oral testimony from an Organda Kendal official and a former Curug Sewu driver. The findings indicate a gradual transformation rather than a single moment of decline. Mangkang Terminal curtailed direct access to inner Semarang and altered passengers’ travel routines. Declining passenger numbers were subsequently associated with reduced service frequency, lower crew income, and a smaller operating fleet. The arrival of Trans Jateng in October 2019 did not initiate this process, but intensified an earlier transformation by offering a service with more predictable fares and schedules. The history of Curug Sewu therefore reveals that regional transport restructuring involved not merely a shift between modes of transport, but also a reconfiguration of routes, transport businesses, labour, and everyday mobility.Keywords: AKDP, PO Curug Sewu, Terminal Mangkang, Trans Jateng

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