Another month, another scandal related to the misuse of seating on the KRL Commuterline train in Jakarta.
Recently, a photo of a woman sitting on a KRL train with her bare feet up and legs stretched across the seat with a young girl next to her went viral online. While conditions inside the carriage didn’t look too crowded, the photo shows that there were still plenty of standing passengers at the time, one of whom could’ve probably squeezed in between the young girl and the next passenger if the woman put her legs down.
PT KCJ, the operators of the KRL Commuterline, confirmed that the photo is authentic and that it was taken in late July. While there are no specific rules on the KRL regarding putting one’s feet up on the seat, the company still condemned the woman for her unethical behavior.
“Even if the KRL is empty, passengers aren’t allowed to sleep on the seat with their legs stretched across it. Because this has to do with ethics. So passengers must know ethical codes when using public facilities,” said PT KCJ Vice President of Communications Eva Chairunisa, as quoted by Detik today.
“Passengers should be mindful of others. We’re also hoping that passengers can remind each other (about train ethics) verbally.”
In June, a woman was widely criticized online after she posted to social media about her frustrations over being made to give up her seat to a pregnant woman.
Seating on the KRL Commuterline is indeed a precious thing. There have been many anecdotes about passengers who are entitled to priority seating (pregnant women, the elderly, the disabled, and parents with small children) being forced to stand as some people go to despicable measures to keep their butts in their seats, such as those who pretend to be asleep or those who simply refuse to stand up.
