The rollout of the JakCard prepaid electronic travel ticketing system has been delayed indefinitely.
The smart card, which would be available for train and Transjakarta busway passengers, was initially planned to hit corridors 1, 2, and 6 of the Transjakarta busway and four train stations serving Pakuan express trains at the end of February.
M. Rezha, a Transjakarta employee at Gambir I shelter in Central Jakarta on Saturday, said the ticketing machine for the JakCard system was already available and that cashiers were trained to use it.
“We don’t have the JakCards. That’s why the system in not operational yet,” he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Transjakarta busway Management (BLU) official Yuliani Evta confirmed that the ticketing machines had been installed in corridors 1, 2 and 6.
She said the Jakcard system was delayed because the BLU and city-run Bank DKI, who issued the cards, were still in the process of finalizing details.
“We don’t know when the system will start,” she said, adding that BLU planned to launch a media
campaign.
Evta said passengers already using Multitrip, BLU’s old prepaid system, could still use it on corridor 1 although the management had stopped distributing the card.
“It’s an old product that uses a slightly different system from JakCard,” she said.
David Tjahjana, the coordinator of the Transjakarta busway users community, expressed disappointment at the delay.
He said the community had always pushed for the use of electronic ticketing and fixed cash payment in its campaigns to passengers because it would make transactions quicker as there was no need to wait for change.
“Electronic ticketing will make it safer for regular passengers to travel because they don’t need to bring money,” he told The Jakarta Post via telephone.
In September 2009, shelters on corridor 1 faced a shortage of Rp 500 coins. The shortage caused long queues because employees were forced to look for small change at nearby shelters.
David said the only drawback to an lectronic ticketing system was if there was a maintenance problem.
He said JakCard machines on corridors 2 and 3, including Bermis and Pedongkelan shelters in East Jakarta, were broken.
David was referring to the first JakCard system used on corridors 2 and 3 since 2007. Bank DKI’s official website stated that JakCards were distributed to more than 7,000 people in the first year of its rollout.
