Residents Complain About Royaltrans Booking System, Passengers Queue Outside Despite Empty Buses

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - A number of passengers have complained about the seat booking system for the Transjakarta Royaltrans service. Passenger complaints have circulated on social media, one of which was posted on the Instagram account @infocibubur, showing the queue of passengers waiting for the Royaltrans bus to arrive. In the post, passengers were already queuing at the stop, but not all could board even though seats inside the bus were still available. Passengers can only board if they have booked tickets in advance via the app; they cannot purchase them on the spot. “The first day of implementing the Royaltrans booking system ended unproductively,” read the caption in the post. Passengers also noted that the app-based booking system lacks adequate socialisation. They complained about inconsistencies in information, from bus arrival delays to discrepancies between vehicle numbers in the app and on the ground. “It’s better to stick with the conventional method, first come first served. If you’re going to use modern rules like this, you need to know how to manage passenger flow, especially at the beginning. Do you know that most Royaltrans users from Cibubur are elderly?” wrote one post. In addition, the poster showed the empty interior of the bus. Yet many people were queuing outside wanting to board. “Ineffective, many seats empty while lots of passengers outside can’t get on. This isn’t service,” read the post. “Transjakarta conveys its apologies for the inconvenience experienced by customers on the first day of implementing the Royaltrans seat booking,” said Ayu on Wednesday. Ayu explained that the seat booking system aims to provide seat certainty and enhance travel comfort. However, they acknowledged that there are still adjustments needed in the early implementation.