Railway company launches service through BCA ATM
Railway company launches service through BCA ATM
JAKARTA (JP): As of Friday, Jakartans traveling out of town
using inter-city trains can purchase their tickets through Bank
Central Asia (BCA) automated teller machines (ATMs) without
having to queue in line for tickets at Gambir station in Central
Jakarta.
First, the customers must call the booking agent, Expert, on
(021) 4221122 to obtain a reservation number. After that, they
can go to the nearest BCA ATM to pay for the ticket.
At the ATM, customers should press the "Pembelian" (Purchase)
button on the ATM menu, select "Expert" from the menu, enter
their reservation number, then choose the train, class --
executive or business --, destination and date of departure.
After that, the ATM will issue a receipt which the customer
can exchange for a ticket at Gambir station one-and-a-half hours
prior to departure.
The operational head of state-owned railway company PT Kereta
Api Indonesia (KAI), Juda Sitepu, said on Friday that only 20
seats for each train would be reserved for purchase through ATMs.
"It's only a beginning. We want to see how effectively this
system works. If the demand is higher than what we have
projected, then maybe we'll increase it to 50 seats," he said, as
quoted by Antara.
Sitepu added that one ATM card holder could only reserve four
tickets within a five-day period.
An operator at the Expert call center said that reservations
before next Friday would be available for departures of one week
or more after the reservation.
"After that, you can reserve the ticket three days prior to
departure. And for now, only ATMs in Jakarta and Greater Jakarta
provide the service. We're working on ATMs in other cities," he
told The Jakarta Post.
Sitepu said that the cooperation between KAI and BCA aimed to
provide fast and convenient services for train passengers.
Trains have been many people's preferred way to travel in this
country as they are usually on time, especially those of the
executive class, and are less risky than buses or cars.
Ever since the monetary crisis hit the country the number of
train passengers has increased, with businesspeople who once
traveled by plane taking trains instead, because of the high
prices of airline tickets.
However, obtaining train tickets can be difficult, especially
on weekends. People have to reserve their tickets long before
departure and have to wait in long queues at the train station.
They often have to buy from scalpers who openly operate at the
stations, selling, of course, at much higher prices.
"That's why we decided to cooperate with BCA to provide this
ATM service," Sitepu said. (hdn)