In response to mounting requests from commuters, state railway operator PT Kereta Api (KA) will soon begin running electric train services to Bogor, West Java and Serpong, Tangerang, at night.

PT KA's Greater Jakarta public relations head, Akhmad Sujadi, said Sunday the plan was prompted in part by the increased fuel prices.

"People, including the (Jakarta) Governor (Fauzi Bowo), have demanded electric train services in the evening, although they have yet to submit formal requests to our company" he told The Jakarta Post.

"Accordingly, we're responding to their requests through our plan," he said.

Akhmad said, however, the company had yet to calculate how many commuters would use the evening services.

The company recorded some 388,000 commuters using its services daily on the two routes last year, with a 30 percent ticket leakage, Akhmad said.

The plans, he said, would be finalized at a meeting today, before officially announcing the additional services on Tuesday morning.

"We still need more discussions to determine scheduling and security details," Akhmad said.

At present, PT KA operates its first trains from Bogor at 4 a.m. and from Serpong at 5 a.m., and the last trains leave Jakarta for Bogor at 9 p.m. and for Serpong at 7 p.m., he said.

Trains run every 15 minutes at peak times, and once an hour around midday, Akhmad said.

The company also needs to improve its ticket sales system, he said.

"We're still figuring out how to sell tickets for evening electric train services, because our ticket booths are usually closed at those times and our ticket officers leave at 7 p.m.," he said.

The company, he said, would charge commuters Rp 6,000 (64 U.S. cents) for a one-way ticket on an evening economy-class air conditioned electric train.

With the government imposing fuel price increases of an average 28.7 percent, almost all public vehicles have resorted to increasing their fares.

Last week, a number of public vehicles in Greater Jakarta held a two-day strike to protest the price increases, causing thousands of commuters to be stranded.

In response to the strike, Fauzi urged PT KA and busway operator TransJakarta to extend their service hours to midnight.

Public transportation observer Tulus Abadi of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation said he encouraged PT KA's plan to provide train services at night time.

"Night train services are necessary indeed, but the company should conduct a feasibility study before going ahead with its plan so it does not suffer losses," he told the Post.

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