Loving the Commuter Line to Death

Stefanus Ato / Aguido Adri

· 5 minutes read

Patience and persistence are important for passengers of Greater Jakarta’s commuter line service. Without them, people like Sudarsono and his family would find the transportation mode unbearable.

On Friday (5/4/2019), Sudarsono waited for the Jakarta-Bekasi commuter line train to arrive at Manggarai Station in South Jakarta. With his wife and 9-month-old infant, Sudarsono stood amid thousands of people. After a 10-minute wait, he struggled to get his family into the train car.

Moments after the doors opened, the awaiting passengers stormed into the train cars while those still inside were left jostling to get out. Sudarsono and his family were trapped between them. He grabbed his suitcase, held his wife’s hand and struggled to find a seat in the first train car, which was reserved for women.

After ensuring that his wife and baby got a seat, he realized that he was trapped in between passengers in the women’s car. An on-duty officer then shouted at him, telling him to move to the next car. However, Sudarsono stayed put. He could not change cars as he was squeezed tight between other passengers.

“It’s already past noon [12:40 p.m.] and it’s still jam-packed like this. I can’t imagine what it’s like in the morning,” he said, adding that he would hop off from the train at Tambun station in Bekasi.

The car became a little less packed when the train reached Klender station. Sudarsono and a dozen of other men were able to move to the next car. For a while, the factory worker would be separated from his wife and baby. The train was held up for five minutes at Cakung station, as it had to give way for a long-distance train to pass through.

The journey that day was usual, as there were no sudden disruptions. If there had been 14 disruptions like between April 1 and 4, Sudarsono’s woes would have been worse.

Strategy

The commuter line’s popularity among passengers means it is jam packed every day. Some people try to apply certain strategies to get a little bit of comfort in the crowded c2ars. Bekasi resident Sumarni, 38, for instance, prefers the regular cars to the women-only cars, which are usually far more crowded. “Not only is it hard to breathe in there, the passengers sometimes fight with each other,” Sumarni said.

According to her, people in the regular cars are commonly friendlier toward one another compared to those in the women’s cars. Despite still being crowded, things are generally calmer in the regular trains. It is also easier to get seats as men often give up their seats to women.

In the crowded cars, Sumarni said that she often worried about sexual harassment. However, she said that no such thing had ever happened to her. Data from state commuter line operator PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia said that sexual harassment cases had increased from 25 in 2017 to 34 in 2018.

Other incidents are also common on the commuter line service. Pekayon, Bekasi, resident Novi Dyan, 30, said that she was stuck for 1.5 hours inside a train when the railway between Cakung and Bekasi stations was damaged on Tuesday (2/4). During the incident, the train she was on was held up three times, namely at Gambir, Manggarai and Jatinegara stations.

“I don’t have much choice. Since I moved to Bekasi in 2015, I have always relied on the commuter line service. If I use other transportation modes, I need to change several times and it’s just too confusing,” Novi said.

Due to such disruptions, Novi and thousands of other passengers were forced to stand for a long time in crowded train cars and arrived home late. Some passengers were forced to continue their journey on foot. Ride-hailing services often suffer from errors when the number of orders surges.

Still in love

Despite all its shortcomings, the commuter line remains popular among its passengers. This is evident from the steadily increasing number of passengers. Kompas data shows that the largest number of passengers in a single day in 2018 was 1,154,080.

Many commuter line users ended up forming groups to maintain close contact with one another. Pandu Aji Prakoso, 21, for instance, founded the Forum of Train Users and Lovers.

Such forums serve as a medium for users to share their commuting tales of joy and sorrow. The forums also provide help for passengers hit by train disruptions. Forum members actively campaign for proper behaviors on commuter lines.

“We often disseminate information on the ethics of using the commuter line, such as not to eat or drink in the car or sit on the floor. The most important thing that we do is provide help during disruptions,” said Pandu, a student at Gunadarma University in Depok.

Such campaigns are important for disabled people like East Jakarta resident Juanda, 27. When he has to struggle to get on a train amid thousands of other passengers, depending on stations’ facilities alone is sometimes not enough. Juanda needs help from on-duty officers to get through the crowd.

“I am going to Universitas Indonesia station in Depok,” Juanda told an officer at Juanda station in Central Jakarta a few days ago.

When Kompas met him there, Juanda said he did not dare get on the train, as it was already too crowded.

“We just wait for the next train, sir. It’s too crowded inside,” the officer told Juanda.

The competition to get seats in such situations is not easy for Juanda. Often times, he just relents and tries to get into the next train instead. It is not ideal, but it is what Juanda has to go through every day.

Juanda and the other million-or-so commuter line passengers find such conditions understandable. However unbearable the conditions are, they are in need of the commuter line.

Editor:

kompascetak