Bribing officials cheaper than buying train tickets

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Trains are the cheapest and quickest transportation means for commuters in the capital, when compared with public minivans, buses or taxis. For only Rp 1,000, at the cheapest, people can reach their destination.

Nevertheless, cheap fares are still not enough for people living in Greater Jakarta. Many of the passengers do not buy tickets. Most of them prefer to pay the onboard ticket collectors.

"I prefer to give my money to the ticket collector instead of queuing to buy a ticket at the station," said Handoko, a regular commuter who lives in Tigaraksa housing complex, Tangerang, west of Jakarta.

Another passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled that several years ago, ticket collectors tried to avoid receiving money from passengers.

"Now I assume they don't feel ashamed about it. I have seen that more and more passengers prefer to pay the ticket collectors," said the 35-year-old passenger.

Ticketless passengers should be fined 500 percent of the ticket price, should they be unable to show their ticket. By paying Rp 1,000, happily received by ticket collectors, passengers can travel unimpeded to their destination.

Edi Harsono, state-owned railway company PT KAI employee at Kebayoran Lama station in South Jakarta, estimated that only 40 percent of passengers bought tickets.

"The other 60 percent prefers either to pay the ticket collectors or avoids them altogether," he said.

On average, 56 trains per day stop at Kebayoran Lama station. They comprise seven cars, each of which can carry over 100 passengers.

Of the 56 trains, 45 travel from Kota station, West Jakarta, to Rangkas Bitung in Banten. The ticket price ranges from Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,500.

PT KAI could have earned Rp 68.6 million in income daily from the commuter trains alone if all passengers had bought tickets. Based on Edi's estimate of only 40 percent of passengers buying tickets, the company could collect only Rp 27.44 million.

Another employee at PT KAI, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the money given by passengers had gone to ticket collectors, train drivers and certain officials at the stations.

A ticket collector, who also wished to remain anonymous, said he could not impose a 500 percent fine for ticketless passengers on board as it would take too long, given the overloading of the cars. But he did not say why he kept the money for himself.

Wardah Hafidz, chairperson of the Urban Poverty Consortium, said the officials at railway stations persisted in the practice for their own benefit.

"They could have stopped doing it if they had wanted to," she said, adding that a poor ticketing and control system had enabled such practices to flourish unchecked.