'Trains overcrowded, riddled with thugs'

Commuter trains are cheap and fast, but many passengers complain about the poor service and lack of safety. Some commuters shared their concerns with The Jakarta Post.

Awi, 52, is a freelance contractor who lives in Sudimara, Tangerang, with his wife and four children. He has taken the train to his office in Kota, West Jakarta, for four years:

In general, I would say that the management of (state-owned railway company, PT KAI), remains poor. How can such poor management ever produce a good and comfortable service for the public?

Every day I have to travel by train and I am one of the thousands of passengers who overcrowd the cars. I am among those who never feel secure aboard. I've often seen a group of thieves mingle with the crowd.

I have to follow the unwritten rules, such as getting on without a ticket. I don't really like doing that, but I must be as crazy as the other passengers. I used to buy a ticket but others laughed at me as if I'd done something foolish. I find it hard to differentiate between right or wrong in such a routine situation on the train.

On one hand, I want to exercise self-discipline by paying the fare but I never get a seat. On the other, most of the others don't pay for a ticket but still occupy seats.

I have many relatives who work as train conductors, but I'm not proud of them as they are all as corrupt as the other officials in the train company. I see every day that train conductors take money from passengers and put it directly into their own pockets. Worse still, they often work hand in hand with thugs who illegally collect fares from passengers.

I agree that both passengers and train company officials should be disciplined by deploying military officers on board who could take tough action against them as a kind of shock therapy.

Windu, 45, is a trader in recycled plastic bottles. He resides in Rangkasbitung, Banten, with his wife and three children. He comes from Yogyakarta:

I like using the train as it's cheap compared with other forms of public transportation.

But I just can't believe how overcrowded the trains can be. Sometimes I get claustrophobic when I'm in the middle of a crowd.

Chaos and uncontrolled flows of commuters are the images that spring to mind if you think about commuter train transportation in the city.

Don't talk about improved service and security in such a situation. That's just a pipe dream for lower-income people like me.

The best approach is to be careful all the time. You have to remain vigilant throughout your journey.

I wanted to be an honest passenger by paying the fare. I did it the first time I went by train years ago. But I could not stand seeing all those others who rode for free, or who paid the conductor after boarding.

So, why should I stick to the rules if thousands of others don't? I know that's wrong, but am I really wrong, given that state of affairs?

-- Leo Wahyudi S