Train service in limbo
What is the best mode of transportation for a teeming metropolitan city the size of Greater Jakarta, with its 10 million population? With traffic gridlock becoming the norm these days, more public buses are not the answer. More buses will only clog the available roads, and add to the congestion.
A commuter train service, whether underground or at the surface, could be the solution that Jakarta is searching for. Any mass rapid transportation (MRT) system that the administration plans to build at some stage would do well to expand on the city's existing, albeit limited, railway network.
But for that to happen, first and foremost, we need to change the administration's attitude toward train services. Jakarta's existing commuter trains are in a state of permanent neglect and are a victim of poor management. We have yet to fully exploit the potential of commuter trains to provide an inexpensive, efficient, fast and comfortable means of public transportation.
Instead, we see a service that is notorious for its lack of punctuality, cleanliness and even space. At times, it also lacks the most basic passenger safety. Riding the train in Jakarta for many commuters who have no other option can be a nightmare, or, worse still, even fatal.
People traveling during the morning or afternoon peak hours count their blessings if they can find anywhere to stand. Most have to cram themselves in, up to 12 people per square meter, according to one official estimate. Others have to cling to the doors or windows, or even sit on the roof, with all the hazards that entails.
KAI, the state-railway company, which operates the commuter trains, has been indifferent to calls for better and safer services. Instead, we keep hearing endless excuses for its failure to offer the public a halfway decent service.
PT KAI Greater Jakarta division puts the blame on poor maintenance, which, in turn, is caused by the inefficiency of maintenance crews. They are able to service only two cars every five months, instead of three or four as required.
KAI President Umar Berto disclosed that one-third of its almost 400 cars had been taken off the tracks because they were too old or lacked maintenance. KAI Greater Jakarta currently operates only 252 cars, which carry 450,000 passengers per day.
An inadequate budget is at the root of KAI's problems. The company has been running a deficit to the tune of Rp 11 billion a year for the last two years.
But blaming KAI alone for its deplorable services is not going to solve the problem. The real solution must come from higher up -- the government, and its own attitude and policies with regard to train services.
The Jakarta administration has shown a strong bias toward road transportation and accommodating the needs of private motorists, with not so much attention being paid to users of public transportation. Just take a look at the hundreds of kilometers of inner city toll road that were built during the last two decades and are still to be built.
In contrast, how much new additional railway track has been laid down during these years?
Admittedly the investment required to build and operate a commuter train service seems too prohibitive for the private sector to handle without government subsidy. Constructing a kilometer of railway track costs Rp 5 billion, while the cost of purchasing and operating a train car can reach Rp 70 billion.
But we know it can be done, because most other large cities around the world have succeeded in building and operating their own MRTs. They are efficient, inexpensive, and, in the main, profitable.
It can be done if the political will exists. Sadly, the idea that a properly managed commuter train service could provide millions of commuters in Jakarta with a much better alternative means of transportation than the existing one has yet to find favor with city administrators.