Poor service at Argogede

Poor service at Argogede

From Republika

On Nov. 9 and Nov. 10, my wife and I traveled to Bandung on
the Argogede JB250 train, since tickets for the Parahyangan line
were sold out. Our train left at 10 a.m..

We all know that the Argogede is on the same level as the
Argobromo and Sembrani, meaning that it is one of the luxury
train services in every sense of the word. Therefore, the state
railway company has established higher tariffs for these lines.
These prices make it possible to keep the price of economy
tickets down. It is a cross subsidizing system. We know that and
we go along with it.

It is regrettable, however, that some passengers do not really
understand this fact. What's more, the company shows a lack of
concern over the damaged equipment. However, it is not surprising
that many facilities on the train are out of order. For example,
first aid facilities have not been given enough attention by the
company. Below are other examples:
* The automatic train doors have to be manually handled. The
doors failed to open automatically when I stood at the threshold.
* The tables before our seats were left gaping, they were not
fully drawn out, but neither were they folded up. In our coach,
there were more than 10 tables in the same condition. I tried
them out and got the impression that they were wrongly
constructed or designed. Train tables designed for Indonesian
travelers should be much sturdier. They should not only be strong
enough to hold plates and glasses, but sturdy enough to allow a
person to sit on them.
* When we arrived in Bandung, I wanted to immediately order a
return ticket for Jakarta the following morning. My younger
brother acquired one with great difficulty, one-and-a-half hours
before departure. When we entered our coach, we discovered many
empty seats. Unsold seats!

Rumors had it that a group of "important people" reserved most
of the seats, then canceled them at the last minute.

I would like to appeal to those important persons not to play
around with the state railway company's schedule. This would only
harm several sides: passengers, the company and the finance
ministry.
* Another thing: If you are sitting on the second floor of Gambir
Station, watch out! Someone once dropped a lit cigarette on my
wife's head from the platform above.
* There are also many people milling around at this station:
passengers, people welcoming arrivals, drivers, food and drink
sellers, paper and magazine sellers and parking attendants. They
all would appreciate lavatory facilities. Do not be surprised if
you happen to see someone facing a hedge or a tree to answer the
call of nature in Monas park. Is it any wonder that an obnoxious
odor hangs in the air around that area? Another faulty design.

I would like to appeal to the state railway company to make
improvements before these shortcomings become worse. A British
friend of mine once gave me a piece of advice: "A stitch in time
saves nine," he said.

S. SUNARTO

Jakarta