Decrease inconvenience on commuter trains Ridwan AB Prasetyo  ;   An alumnus of Gadjah Mada University’s School of Psychology, An assistant at ITB’s Laboratory of Work System Engineering and Ergonomics

JAKARTA POST,  15 Februari 2014

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                         

                                                      

As a former daily commuter-line service passenger, I jostled against other passengers every morning to win a targeted standing spot or, if fortunate, a seat.  The station where I took the train was the final stop for the eastern line service (Jakarta Kota-Bekasi), a very challenging route for passengers because of the competition with so many people on the platform. Other passengers and I were often disappointed when our train was overtaken by a long-haul or freight train in Cakung station. In other cases, I would feel numb when the train would stop inexplicably for nearly 20 minutes and I couldn’t make a single move. But there were also many improvements. Better trains, more effective and modern ticketing system, lower fares and no more passengers on the rooftops were worthy examples. Statistics show the improvements. In mid-2013, there were some 400,000 passengers a day on the commuter-line. By the end of the year, daily passengers numbered 600,000. The significant increase within a short period shows the appeal of the service’s improvements.  Yet unpleasant situations still exist, leading to demands for better, more convenient services. The operator PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ) has moved to satisfy demands. I would also demand improvements in decreasing inconvenience. Inconvenience in rush hours seem inevitable. The seating arrangement, like in Transjakarta buses, of course aims to optimize space and some two-thirds of passengers have to stand.  To decrease such inconvenience, operators should optimize every trip of the commuter train. But trips become longer when, for instance, we are overtaken by long-hauls or freight trains. As noted by the scholar David Maister in his article “The Psychology of Waiting Lines”, people tend to feel a wait is much longer than it actual is when the length of the wait is uncertain. Five minutes feel like a distressing 15 minutes if you don’t know when the train will finally come.  One possible solution is to build a quad track (four-line track) to ease traffic and reduce overtaking, a project that the government is starting and which can hopefully be completed soon. Another problem leading to longer trips is too many level-crossings along train routes, clearly showing the need for underpasses or flyovers.  Unfortunately, this is not a short-term solution as such infrastructure requires the involvement of many parties. But the urgency was raised again in the wake of last year’s train accident in Bintaro, south of Jakarta. Also, maintenance of trains and infrastructure should be improved to reduce unnecessary delays. Interventions to decrease inconvenience must also consider car interiors. Car temperature is one of them. Craig Anderson, an environmental psychologist from Iowa State University, revealed that aggressive behavior is related to temperature. “The hotter it is, the angrier we get,” he stated. This is why I often saw people violently try to block train doors when the car was fully occupied and the temperature was burning hot. Thus, the air-conditioning system in cars must always be functioning properly. Passengers should be kept cool, notably during peak hours. Avoiding aggressive behavior should be a main concern, as it is directly linked to passenger safety. Another car intervention should be redesigning interiors, as in the New York subways, where operators redesigned the car interiors to maximize passenger movement, conducted after a prior study on passenger behavior.  The study proposed some new designs which resulted in minor and major interior changes, such as seating arrangements, doors and handgrip positions. Presently, it may seem difficult to imitate the New York subway operator, as KCJ is still counting on secondhand Japanese cars to strengthen its fleet. KCJ could duplicate the measure if some day they decided to purchase a brand-new train set. They should first propose a research-based car design that fits characteristics of their passengers. This slightly different perspective of decreasing inconvenience could help the commuter train operator to improve services. ●

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