Fare evaders inflict huge monthly losses upon KAI

By Multa Firdaus

JAKARTA (JP): Poor ticket control and weak law enforcement have for years provided leeway for economy-class electric and diesel train passengers to evade paying fares.

A survey conducted recently shows that 20 percent of 450,000 commuters using the trains were fare evaders, creating another headache for state railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) with unpaid tickets amounting to Rp 800 million annually.

KAI spokesman Zainal Abidin said the company has never expected to see profits from its electric train (KRL) and diesel train (KRD) business since the trains began operations more than a decade ago.

"It is impossible to benefit from KRL and KRD services, even if everybody pays to get on board," Zainal told The Jakarta Post recently.

The fares for both train types range from Rp 500 (5 U.S. cents) to Rp 1,500.

According to Zainal, illegal passengers have drawn concern due to the fact that many of them can afford to pay for tickets.

"The survey revealed that they did not buy tickets because of a lack of time. They said their trains were departing when they reached the railway stations," Zainal said.

KAI conducted the survey in a bid to improve services.

Electric and diesel trains ply 158.7 kilometers of track in Jakarta and its neighboring towns of Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang. KAI operates 332 electric cars and 42 diesel cars per day with a capacity to carry just 140,000 passengers.

Zainal said both services contribute Rp 4.6 billion per month to KAI's revenues, but the company receives practically no income because most of the money is spent on paying electricity expenses and operational costs.

He said it was very difficult to control illegal passengers, primarily because of a shortage of human resources.

"The company only employs 600 officers who have to check 450,000 KRL and KRD passengers every day," he said.

He said KAI once asked for police help, but the effort was fruitless because the officers could not carry out their job in such overloaded trains, particularly during peak hours between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Train conductors are another matter, said Zainal.

"They do not dare take stern measures against passengers who fail to show tickets. In some cases, conductors opt to leave fare evaders alone after their demand for tickets are unheeded by the passengers," Zainal said.

KAI Jakarta Bogor Tangerang Bekasi Operation Division chief, Bambang Sulistio, said there were reports of conductors, who are usually older, being beaten by fare evaders.

"That's why the conductors usually have to compromise by asking the illegal passengers to pay a fine whenever they will," Bambang said.

In order not to burden the conductors, Bambang said KAI has asked its employees at railway stations to carry out ticket checks, but the effort did not work well as the officers were reluctant sometimes to argue with the would-be fare evaders.

Bambang said the way railway stations are built also allows passengers to skip ticket control.

He said the use of a one-door policy is the most effective way to prevent illegal passengers.

"But, building a 'sterile' station is too costly, not to mention the negative response from people living nearby," he said. Building such a station would necessitate the railway company building a long and tall fence, the cost of which is beyond its reach, said Bambang.

An illegal passenger who asked for anonymity told the Post during a trip from Pasar Minggu to Kota on Friday that he did not buy a ticket because he was disappointed with KAI's poor services.

"Why buy a ticket if the service is very poor?" he asked, without elaborating.

Another regular passenger, Maria, 25, a Depok, West Java resident, blamed rampant illegal passengers on conductors' leniency.

"If ticket checks were strictly applied, many illegal passengers would be unable to take the train," she said. She suggested that KAI improve its services to encourage passengers to buy tickets.

Sunandar, 39, a Bogor resident, shared Maria's view. He said KAI employees were too lazy to carry out ticket checks.

"That's why so many people are not afraid of taking a train without buying a ticket," he said.