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)