Jabotabek trains offer exciting rides for commuters<\/p>\n
By Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The sight of passengers hanging in doorways,
\nwhile others risk their lives riding on the roof of overcrowded
\ntrains make people who are unfamiliar with the scene hesitate to
\njump on.<\/p>\n
Regular passengers consist of people from all walks of life.
\nMen in neat shirts, blue-collar workers, women in classy fragrant
\noffice outfits and sweating food hawkers -- all mingle in the
\nsame carriage.<\/p>\n
Trains plying Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabotabek)
\nare popular among commuters in the four areas because they are
\nfast, unaffected by the horrendous traffic gridlock in the rush
\nhours and cheap.<\/p>\n
A trip from his house in Depok to Jakarta -- some 30
\nkilometers to the north -- costs Ikrar Saputra, a private company
\nemployee, a mere Rp 600. A trip by a Metromini bus costs Rp 500
\nbut it will cost him more since he has to transfer several times
\nto get to his office in the Menteng area of Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Prices keep rising and some employees are lucky to get a
\npayhike. But salaries of private company employees, like me, stay
\nthe same. For the rich, Rp 500 means nothing, but it really means
\na lot for people like me,\" the father of two said on board a
\ntrain.<\/p>\n
The train takes him to his office faster than the bus and he
\ndoes not have to worry that he will be late. It takes the train
\nonly about 30 minutes from Depok to Gambir Station.<\/p>\n
\"I can't predict how long it would be for me to reach the
\noffice by taking a public bus. It might take over an hour at
\ntimes of bad traffic congestion. But by train, I can be sure that
\nI will get to my office on time,\" Ikrar said.<\/p>\n
At one point, taking the train instead of a more expensive
\nair-conditioned bus is just as uncomfortable as going by
\nMetromini bus.<\/p>\n
The commuter will not only struggle for a seat. If you lose
\nthe \"struggle\", you have to stand in the aisle or doorway right
\nfrom the time you get on until the moment you get off. And be
\ncareful of your belongings! Pickpockets are omnipresent.<\/p>\n
\"I don't find it a big problem but I hope that Perumka (the
\nstate railway company) will add more train cars,\" Ikrar said of
\nthe trains serving the Jakarta-Depok-Bogor routes, which
\ntransport more than 200,000 passengers during the course of their
\n88 trips per day.<\/p>\n
Long-time regular commuters have their own tale to tell about
\nexperiences they have had onboard.<\/p>\n
\"I lost my wallet twice on this train,\" said Daryadi, a
\nshopping center supervisor. He was not aware his wallet was
\nmissing until it was too late.<\/p>\n
He believed it was the work of a professional pickpocket.<\/p>\n
\"In the first incident, I learned about it when I was about to
\npay for my bus fare. In the second incident, I was aware of the
\nmissing wallet when I was about to get off,\" said Daryadi.<\/p>\n
The experiences taught him a lesson. Now he does not bring
\nmuch cash or put any important documents in his wallet. He keeps
\nsome money at his office and inside his socks.<\/p>\n
Friendship<\/p>\n
A private university administrative employee in Depok was more
\nfortunate.<\/p>\n
\"I was so tired that I didn't realize a pickpocket had
\nsnatched my bag and tried to get away with it,\" she said,
\nrecalling last year's incident.<\/p>\n
\"But a woman sitting next to me saw it and screamed, 'maling'
\n(thief). Then a man near me grabbed my bag from the pickpocket,
\nwho managed to jump off right when the train was about to stop at
\nthe station. It happened so fast.\"<\/p>\n
Now she has become good friends with the two people who helped
\nher.<\/p>\n
\"I don't feel the trips are tiresome or boring anymore because
\nI have friends to talk to,\" said the mother of three.<\/p>\n
Mobile market<\/p>\n
These days, the Jabotabek train is more than just a mode of
\ntransport. It is a mobile market.<\/p>\n
Unlike public buses, where vendors shove snacks or candies in
\nyour face, traders on the train offer merchandise usually found
\nin shopping centers, such as ladies' bags, umbrellas, shirts,
\nsandals, children's school bags, toys and imported fruit.<\/p>\n
The products -- mostly of unknown brands -- are cheaper than
\nthose sold at the supermarket.<\/p>\n
A ladies' shoulder bag is offered for Rp 15,000, while a small
\numbrella, which fits into a handbag, is sold at Rp 10,000. A bag
\nof baby Mandarin oranges and a bag of four red apples are priced
\nat Rp 5,000 each. And bargaining might even lower the price
\nfurther.<\/p>\n
At shopping centers, the bags and umbrellas may cost Rp 10,000
\nand higher, while the fruit on the train is Rp 5,000 cheaper.<\/p>\n
A fruit vendor, Mamat, claimed that his goods were imported.
\n\"I buy my fruit direct from the importer, that's why I can sell
\nit at a lower price,\" said the 26-year-old vendor.<\/p>\n
Although he has only been in business for three months, Mamat
\n-- a former street vendor -- said he has done quite well. He said
\nhe could sell up to 20 bags of fruit per day during work days on
\nthe train.<\/p>\n
\"I used to sell anything from shirts, toys and cigarettes in
\nSenen market (Central Jakarta), but I had many competitors and
\nbusiness was not very good,\" Mamat said.<\/p>\n
The vendors' presence on the train received mixed responses.
\nSome commuters said they need them while others found them
\nannoying.<\/p>\n
\"The goods they are selling are not bad at all. I bought some
\noranges yesterday. They were good and my children liked them,\"
\nsaid a housewife, Danik Kuntono.<\/p>",
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