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Food, beverage vendors benefit from passenger crowds at MRT stations
Vendors enjoy lucrative business at MRT stations thanks to large passenger numbers and low rent.
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MRT passengers pass through the ticket gates at Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama )
Business seems to be thriving for dozens of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that recently opened shop inside MRT stations in Jakarta. Vendors say the busy MRT stations brought many customers to their outlets in the first few days of operations.
Muhammad Utama Akbar, one of six vendors at Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta, has seen lots of customers visit his stall, where he sells fresh fruit and salad. Utama said he earned around Rp 1 million in revenue on a weekday.
“I’ve have had quite a lot of customers since opening my business in the station, especially during rush hours. However, the sales are not that good on the weekends,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Utama explained that around 30 to 40 people per day come to his stall, which is located near the exit of the station. His store, called Gorjuice, is open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Near Utama’s shop is a bakery called Melati Bakehouse. Rifa Permata Sari, an employee who works on the store, said the bakery had to close early almost every day because its products were sold out.
“Even though the bakery is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., on weekdays it usually closes around 7 p.m., because all of the products are sold out,” she said, adding that customer numbers were lower on the weekend.
