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MRT becomes Jakarta's newest tourist magnet during Idul Fitri
“Ever since May 30, passenger traffic in and out of the station has been increasing rapidly,” said Lia. “We expect the customer traffic to be this high until June 9 before it gradually starts going down.”
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A security guard talks to passengers inside an MRT train at Bundaran HI Station, Central Jakarta on June 6. (JP/bry)
D
uring this year’s Idul Fitri holiday, the MRT has become a popular public transportation option, as well as a growing tourist attraction.
“This is my first time taking the MRT,” Elsa, 47, a private employee and resident of Bandung, West Java, told The Jakarta Post at the Senayan MRT Station. “I watched the inauguration on TV, but only because of the Idul Fitri holiday was I able to travel to Jakarta with my family and finally experience the MRT.”
Elsa was not the only passenger who used the holiday to ride the rails.
“I’ve never used the MRT previously because I rarely go to Jakarta since I work in Serang, Banten,” said Triyanti, 43, at the Cipete Raya Station. “Today we drove from Serpong to Plaza Indonesia, parked our car and started taking the MRT from the Bundaran HI Station.”
MRT employees working at the Lebak Bulus Station have had to introduce new measures to accommodate the mass influx of people who want to use the system.
“To prepare for Idul Fitri week, we added seven additional customer service staff members,” said Lia Nurwulan, a staff member at the Lebak Bulus Station ticket booth. “Also, one person has been added to be on standby at the self-service ticket machine to guide the passengers.”
On a normal day at the ticket booth, staff has about Rp 5 million in cash on hand. However, according to Lia, the cash reserves on June 5 were Rp 17 million because of the increased passenger traffic during Idul Fitri week.
