W

hen the airport train connecting Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten to downtown Jakarta was launched in December last year, expectations were high that the service would become a preferred mode of transportation and alleviate road congestion.

Eight months on, the service has yet to capture the hearts of airport passengers, with state-owned train operator PT Railink revealing that only 2,600 to 2,700 passengers use the service each day, 13 percent of its capacity.

A Karim, a Tanjung Barat resident in South Jakarta, said the train’s impracticality and lack of connectivity with other modes of public transportation could be a major reason for people preferring to use a car when traveling to the airport. He himself used an app-based ride hailing service on Tuesday when traveling to Sudirman Baru Station in Central Jakarta, where the train departs, instead of using public transportation, such as the commuter train or Transjakarta bus, which is much cheaper.

“If people use public transportation, they are forced to walk on a narrow sidewalk before arriving here [Sudirman Baru Station]. It is burdensome for me, particularly when I have to carry two big suitcases,” said 40-year-old Karim, who spent the past seven years working at a retail company in Sydney, Australia.

The nearest stop to the station, also known as BNI City Station, is Sudirman train station and Dukuh Atas bus station. There are Transjakarta feeder buses available, but the operational hours of the service is limited.

“In Sydney, everything is connected. So when you arrive at Central Station, there are other transportation services that can connect you to the rest of the city,” he said, adding that an integrated payment system allowed passengers to pay the fare with a single card called Opal.

Karim added that punctuality would be the main reason behind his decision to use the train instead of a car. The service from Sudirman Baru Station to the airport takes 46 minutes.

Traffic woes at the toll road connecting to the airport have shown no signs of abating, as seen last week when many passengers, including airline crew, were reportedly trapped in congestion and arrived late at the airport. The situation forced toll road operator Jasa Marga to apply an open-and-close road system at the Rawa Bokor toll gate near the airport.

With an investment of Rp 3.6 trillion (US$242.34 million), train service was expected lure 20 percent of the 200,000 passengers traveling to and from Soekarno-Hatta every day, while alleviating traffic congestion in which a trip from Jakarta can take more than two hours.

Making 72 trips from several stations in Greater Jakarta to the airport and back, the train service can accommodate 19,584 passengers daily, with capacity set to be gradually increased to 33,000, when the number of trips is increased to 124 per day.

The service has also been expanded to Bekasi in West Java to reach more people.

Railink spokesperson Diah Suryandari said her office had offered several promotions to lure more passengers, including through launching Perfeq Rider, which give discounts to frequent customers. A trip normally costs Rp 70,000.

The company also offers discounted fares for those traveling in a group. The larger the group, the bigger the discount.

“We are confident that the number of passengers will continue to increase. Soekarno-Hatta airport serves 60 million passengers a year, so it should not be impossible for us to serve 10 million passengers per year,” she said.

Adriyansyah Yasin, a transportation observer and cofounder of the Jakarta Transportation Discussion Forum, said better connectivity and accessibility to Sudirman Baru Station would boost the number of passengers.

“Without convenient access to the station, it will be difficult to increase the number of passengers. The completion of the MRT, which will have a station connected to the airport train station, should be used as an opportunity to improve pedestrian access and transportation integration,” he said.