Passengers complain of Commuter Line’s flat rate

Passengers of the newly introduced Commuter Line called on state railway operator PT KAI to change its flat rate scheme to reduce ticket prices.

Passengers proposed a zoning system in which short-distance commuters would pay less. The commuter line system underwent a trial run on Thursday and Friday, and begins operating today.

“The current pricing is unfair on people traveling short distances,” commuter Zeni Budiman said, referring to the flat rate system.

He said it would be better to apply rates based on the length of distance traveled, “so ticket prices for short trips would be cheaper”.

Trains running on PT KAI’s Commuter Line service — which replaces the Greater Jakarta express air-conditioned trains that stop at only a few major stations — are regular air-conditioned commuter trains that stop at all stations.

PT KAI has reduced its planned ticket price of Rp 9,000 (US$1.05) to Rp 7,000 per seat for the longest route in Greater Jakarta, Jakarta to Bogor.

Under the scheme approved last weekend, tickets for the Jakarta-Depok route cost Rp 6,000, the Jakarta-Bekasi route cost Rp 6,500, the Jakarta-Tangerang route cost Rp 5,500 and the Jakarta-Serpong route cost Rp 6000.

“I don’t understand why short-distance trips are priced the same as long-distance ones,” Ika Nafudin, a train passenger, told the Jakarta Post while waiting for the Tanah Abang-bound train at Palmerah station in Central Jakarta.

Ika, from Rangkas Bitung, Banten, said that to get home from his office in Jakarta, he took a one-stop train ride from Palmerah to Tanah Abang before transferring to another train to Rangkas Bitung.

For Ika and others in his situation, the Rp 6,000 ticket price for the Serpong-Jakarta route is a burden.

Passengers claim that the increased price would be acceptable only if accompanied by improved services.

“As passengers we understand that [PT KAI] needs to rase fares to raise standards,” Ika said. “However, they must play their part and improve services.”

He said that where services were concerned, small things were often overlooked.

“For example, at Tanah Abang station, where a lot of people have to switch trains, passengers are
forced to go up and down a big staircase to buy tickets before hopping onto the next train,” Ika said. “Why aren’t there ticket booths down below?”

The Commuter Line’s two-day trial run on Thursday and Friday was orderly in some stations and chaotic in others, especially Bogor, West Java.

“It was rather chaotic and trains were filled to overcapacity because people were not sure of which train to take,” Dwina Jayanti, a Bogor passenger, said. “People also have to re-calculate their travel times because of the new system.”

Makmur Syaheran, the corporate secretary of PT KRL Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ), a subsidiary PT KAI serving Greater Jakarta, said distance-based ticket pricing was considered for the new system, but added that the company was not ready to run such a “risky” scheme.

“It was considered, but it needs a lot of preparation,” he said.

“We would require a lot of additional manpower to check passengers’ tickets,” Makmur added. (awd)