Tight fit: A passenger squeezes onto a train car at Sudirman Station in Jakarta on Wednesday.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

In less than three years the Greater Jakarta commuter train has created a model for organizing 740,000 passengers per day by patiently educating people, from all walks of life, on the technology and etiquette of traveling trains.

Those spearheading this campaign are the men and women in dark blue uniform at each station and aboard the trains who strongly enforce the rules. They are scolded by obstinate middle-aged women and some have been punched by stubborn smokers.

But many understand and comply with the rules, because they can see that they are for their own benefit. In the past there were bottlenecks at exits, cigarette smoke billowing, people eating and littering on trains and passengers cramping the cars with excessive amounts of baggage.

Nurhayati, 37-year-old housewife, was almost begging to be allowed to bring a more than 2-meter curtain rod onto a commuter train at the Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta one afternoon.

“I usually am allowed to bring them in,” she insisted in front of a security guard.

“No ma’am, you need to cut it into 1-meter sections or you can take other transportation,” said the officer firmly.

The officer then showed an announcement board with a chart containing information about the size of goods that can be brought onto the train. It is written that the maximum baggage is 1 cubic-meter or two carry-on bags.

Nurhayati was upset but eventually gave up. “The officers are only doing their job,” she said.

Since scrapping most of its non-air conditioned economy trains in 2013 and implementing an electronic ticketing system, city commuter train operator PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ) has been improving its facilities and system both on trains and at stations.

The e-ticketing system has forced passengers to learn to queue so the gate will not malfunction and trained officers in ticket booths make people stay in line. Some of the stations now even have ticket vending machines to quicken the process.

Although trains are often delayed due to signal glitches and other technical issues, around 740,000 people in the capital rely on trains every day.

Regular commuter 26-year-old Nani Suherni said she had also noticed changes.

“I have been taking trains for years and I can see the improvements,” said Nani, who usually commutes from her home in Kranji, Bekasi, to Gondangdia Station in Central Jakarta.

 “But many passengers still rush onto the trains, not allowing other passengers to get off first,” she said.

Achmad, a 23-year-old who has been a KRL security officer for three years, said most passengers were aware that they should queue or let other passengers alight before they get on the trains.

“These passengers are regulars who usually take trains daily,” he said.

Achmad said the ones that usually caused trouble were occasional passengers. “Many people go to Tanah Abang around Lebaran, for example, for shopping. They do not usually take the train,” he said.

He said that these passengers needed to be watched. “They sometimes hastily tap their cards or all want to come through at once. Some of them insist on bringing a lot of things on board,” he said.

Achmad said most passengers in most stations automatically queued politely before tapping their e-ticket. However, sometimes middle-aged women who had been shopping hung out in big groups in the middle of the stations and hampered the flow of other passengers. “We always have to remind them,” he said.

Tanah Abang train station head Cholik said that the station served up to 95,000 people on regular days and up to 150,000 on holidays. “Up to 300,000 passengers transit at the station per day,” he said.

Tanah Abang has around 110 staff members, including 60 security guards, 31 ticketing officers and eight passenger service officers to keep the station in order.

Sociologist Imam Prasodjo said he saw improvements on the commuter line as well as on long-distance trains. “With better facilities and a better system, people tend to be more patient and will eventually become more disciplined,” he said.

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