TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT MRT Jakarta has started to apply its normal tariff since Monday, May 13. During the first day of its implementation, the number of passengers decreased compared to that of the daily average in the previous month.

PT MRT Jakarta Corporate Secretary, Muhamad Kamaluddin, said that as many as 77,696 people boarded Indonesia first subway nicknamed Ratangga on the first day of the full price implementation, while the average passengers last month was recorded at 82,615 people per day.

“The figure drops because it’s Monday. [Based on] our weekly pattern, the lowest number of passengers is recorded on Monday, while the highest on Friday,” said Kamaluddin via a short message on Tuesday, May 14.

However, the total number of passengers on that day surpassed the daily target set by the corporate for the first-year operation at 65,000 people. The goal was made in accordance with the number of similar subway users in other countries’ capital that also first introduced the modern transportation.

Kamaluddin explained that the most crowded station has not changed to date. “It is still Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout, followed by Lebak Bulus and Dukuh Atas,” he said.

The 15.7-kilometer MRT Jakarta has a total of 13 stations connecting Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and HI Roundabout in Central Jakarta. Seven of them are elevated stations in Lebak Bulus, Fatmawati, Cipete Raya, Haji Nawi, Blok A, Blok M, and Sisingamangaraja, while the rest are underground stations located in Senayan, Istora, Bendungan Hilir, Setiabudi, Dukuh Atas, and Bundaran HI.

The normal fare is set based on the travel distance ranging from Rp3,000 to Rp14,000 per person. Previously, 50 percent discount was provided for a whole month of April 2019, starting from its first commercial operation and was extended for the next two weeks.

LANI DIANA WIJAYA

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