It is not against MRT rules to drink water and eat dates during Ramadan. Announcements at stations and in trains even notify passengers when it is time to break the fast. However, eating and drinking anything else is prohibited — and the very same announcements inform passengers of this.

Some passengers traveling from Bundaran HI Station, Central Jakarta, to Lebak Bulus Station, South Jakarta, paid no attention to this message on Monday afternoon.

Aulia, 25, was eating bread for iftar when MRT security personnel approached her and asked her to stop eating. She quickly put her bread back in her backpack and apologized, telling the officers that she did not know it was against the rules.

The no-eating rule, set by city-owned MRT operator PT MRT Jakarta, went into effect last week to maintain cleanliness inside the trains and instill a sense of discipline among passengers who commute in an otherwise highly polluted city. The company argued that breaking the fast with water and dates would not leave crumbs on the train.

PT MRT Jakarta operation and maintenance director Muhammad Effendi said passengers caught consuming food and drinks could be asked to step out of the train at the nearest station. However, thus far, the company has simply given warnings to those who are not aware of the policy.

Upon alighting from the train in Lebak Bulus, Aulia admitted that she had lied to the security guards. She actually knew about the no-eating policy.

“I was just really hungry. I know I’m not supposed to lie, but I was in a hurry because my family is waiting for me at home,” the private employee told The Jakarta Post on Monday at Lebak Bulus Station.

A similar policy is in place for other public transportation services, such as city-owned Transjakarta and commuter line trains. However, unlike the MRT, there are no restrictions to food and drink when it comes to breaking the fast.

Aulia was not the only commuter found breaking the rule on Monday. A train security guard, Karis, caught a passenger eating a donut on the train that day. He, like others before him, was forgiven after admitting wrongdoing.

Karis said he had yet to force any passengers off the train because none had caused trouble.

There are two security guards assigned for every MRT train, each of which has six cars. A single guard monitors three cars.

“Sometimes there are just too many passengers to monitor,” Karis said, recalling how his colleague was reprimanded by MRT management for failing to spot a passenger who was seen in footage from a security camera eating fried chicken to break the fast.

Effendi, who has personally seen people eat on board, said the problem had persisted despite the constant notifications and warnings that had been issued by management since Ramadan began.

He said the warnings were not a form of leniency but a way of educating the public about a new kind of commuter culture.

Sarah, a 29-year-old employee who uses KRL commuter line trains, said she consumed her meals on the train to break the fast.

“I live in Bekasi [in West Java]. What I know is that KRL has allowed passengers to eat inside for years,” she told the Post.

Meanwhile, Khoirul Anam, who regularly commutes using Transjakarta buses, said he ate bread and consumed soft drinks on board to break the fast.

“I have this [food] because it’s not practical to eat rice on bus during peak hours,” the 22-year old told the Post. (das)

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