Commuter train: passengers required to wear long sleeve clothes, 50 free buses to anticipate crowd at station

Last updated on May 6th, 2021 at 10:33 am

People come together in crowds, we are more likely to come into close contact with others and it is more difficult to maintain physical distance in the midst of coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. One of the advice is people are asked to wear masks when outside the house.

Therefore, railway operator Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) issued a new regulation that commuter train passengers in Greater Jakarta must wear long sleeve shirts or jackets.

That is the rule aside from wearing masks all the time inside the station and on the train. The passengers are also encouraged to put on face shields for more protection from the virus.

“Wearing of face shields is not a must but we encourage passengers to do so because it can add protection from Covid-19,” KCI spokeswoman Anne Purba said.

The dress code of wearing long sleeve clothes was aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus among passengers, although there is no scientific evidence suggesting that wearing long sleeve clothes will do any help.

Anne Purba said passengers who don’t follow the new regulation will be denied entry to the station.

“We have been introducing this new regulation during this whole week. We implement the transportation minister circular that obliges passengers to wear long-sleeve clothes to prevent transmission of Covid-19,” Anne said as quoted by Kompas TV.

In addition, talking and answering calls on cellphone are prohibited, so are eating and drinking in the carriage.

This new regulation to enter into force on Monday, July 20, also restricts passengers according to their age. It says that children under five years must not aboard the train. Passengers above 60 years of age are allowed to travel on the commuter train between 10.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m.

However, Anne said the must-wearing long sleeve clothes regulation is in the socialization period. KCI gives some time to passengers to adapt to this new regulation.

“So if there are short-sleeved clothing passengers, officers will provide education until later this week. We will evaluate again about their obedience using long arms, “said Anne.

The passenger policy must use the long arms as stipulated in the Ministry of Transportation Circular No. 14 of 2020 concerning the guidelines and technical guidelines for controlling railroad transportation during the period of adaptation to new habits.

Meanwhile, the government through the Ministry of Transportation in cooperation with the Greater Jakarta Transportation Management Agency (BPTJ) has appointed Perum PPD to provide free bus services at Bogor Station.

This was done to anticipate the queue of passengers at Bogor Station during rush hours.

The bus services have occurred since last May and starting Monday, July 20, the number will be added with multi destinations.

“We provide 50 additional buses that stand by at Bogor Station. The buses will go to Tebet Station, Sudirman Station, Tanah Abang Station, Manggarai Station, and Juanda Station,” said President Director of Perum PPD, Pande Putu, Sunday, July 19.

In addition, as many as 15 buses will be provided to deliver passengers to other destinations, Sudirman and Manggarai Stations. The free bus deployment is considered effective in reducing the crowd that occurs at Bogor station.