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orty-year-old housewife Suci looked confused as she approached one of the e-ticketing turnstiles at Kota station, West Jakarta, on Monday.

'I don't know how to use it,' she shouted at the station officer standing nearby, showing her one-trip pass.

She later tapped the card on the scanner as instructed by the officer, but she left it there, making the officer run after her with the card, telling her she would need it to get out of Depok station, her destination.

Maria, 32, also needed help from the officers to pass the gate smoothly.

'It is a new thing for me,' she said, adding that she liked the new system which in her opinion was more practical than the paper ticket routine.

On Monday state railway operator PT KAI started trials of the new e-ticketing system on the Kota-Depok route with departures from Kota. Last week, the company started the tryout on the Duri (West Jakarta) 'Tangerang route.

'In the new system, the passengers only need to mention their final destination and the staff at the booth will give them a pass,' KAI vice president Sugeng Priyono told The Jakarta Post at Kota station.

The company uses a different type of ticket gate at the arrival station, where, instead of scanning the ticket, the machine swallows the card to prevent reuse.

City commuter line operator (KCJ) spokesperson Eva Chairunissa said that besides allowing passengers to have a hand in the new e-ticketing system during the trial period, the company also familiarized the public by distributing flyers and placing information on board trains and on the Internet.

'We also have station officers near the gates to help out passengers,' she said.

Last year, KCJ issued the commuter electronic ticket (Commet) to replace the subscriber cards.

However the monthly ticketing system stopped in December 2012 as the company planned the e-ticketing system at 63 stations.

'The new system is fairer because commuters don't have to pay if they don't travel,' Eva said. (tam)