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tate-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) is revamping the operational management of its trains and stations across Greater Jakarta to make way for more passengers.

KAI spokesman Mateta Rizalulhaq said on Tuesday that all efforts ' such as removing vendors from stations, scrapping economy-class trains and implementing an electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) system ' would result in a better quality service.

'Our main focus is to provide safe and comfortable trains and stations, so more people choose to commute by train,' he said on the sidelines of a discussion on safety in Central Jakarta.

Mateta said the number of train commuters in Greater Jakarta had increased from around 400,000 people per day last year to more than 500,000 people per day this year.

'We are optimistic that we can reach the target of 1.2 million passengers per day in 2018 as stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 83/2011 on Greater Jakarta train operations,' he said.

Mateta said to meet this target, vendors must be cleared from train stations, so the platforms could be extended to make room for more carriages.

Moreover, spacious stations would allow motorists to leave their vehicles and take the train.

The removal of street vendors from stations has been met with protests because the company has offered no alternative to the vendors, many of whom have been based at the stations for years.

Responding to this, Mateta said KAI had no social obligation to the vendors and the company's main aim was to give the passengers their rights back.

'Furthermore, we will also remove the larger vendors; such as convenience stores,' he said, adding that the company would wait until contracts with the stores expired. 'Or, we could give them compensation for the termination of their contract,' he said.

Another controversial move is also in the pipeline; the termination of economy-class trains. Last week, the company axed economy-class trains traveling from Serpong, South Tangerang, to Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, with the cessation of the remaining economy-class routes to follow.

Spokesperson for KAI Banten, West Java and Jakarta office, Sukendar Mulya, claimed the action was taken purely due to safety.

'The [Serpong-Tanah Abang] trains, made in 1974, are in total disrepair ' it's not safe to keep them running,' he said, adding the firm would replace all economy-class trains with air-conditioned ones.

Sukendar said the firm was aware that the air-conditioned train ticket price was more expensive and urged the government to subsidize tickets so it would be affordable.

The ticket price of an economy-class train is currently Rp 1,500 (15 US Cents), while that of the air-conditioned commuter train is Rp 8,000.

On June 1, KAI will launch their e-ticketing system, which applies a distance-based price mechanism.

'The fare for the first five stations would be Rp 3,000 and it will increase by Rp 1,000 every three stations,' he said.

A member of the Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ), Iskandar Abubakar, said it was time for the government to form a policy that favored public transportation by giving train passengers a bigger subsidy.

KAI, like other state-owned enterprises, is entitled to a public service obligation (PSO) fund. The government has allocated, but is yet to disburse, Rp 704 billion ($72.5 million) in PSO fund to KAI.