Indonesians, especially those who live in the Jabodetabek area (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi), are no strangers to the KRL. This commuter line mode of transportation is indeed a common choice for inter-city travel.
Although reliable, the commuter line is also not immune from various criticisms. However, who would have thought that foreign tourists would praise this mode of transportation?
An American YouTuber named Evan Ramani expressed his admiration for the commuter line. He even considers KRL better than the subway in New York!
He expressed his admiration in a video on his YouTube channel, That Evan Guy, titled “I CAN’T Believe Jakarta, Indonesia’s Infrastructure (USA Jealous).”
From the video he uploaded on Youtube, it can be seen that he boarded from Sawah Besar station. When entering the station he immediately praised it because the station was clean. According to him, the NYC subway is dirty and a lot of chewing gum garbage, even rats.
“I thought I would take public transportation, see how public transportation is here. Oh Good first impression!
Clean, you know!” Evan said in the video.
Apart from being clean, he also likes Jakarta’s public transportation because it is more comfortable and safer than what he has tried in Chicago.
He also praised the actions of one of the male passengers on the train who was willing to stand up to give a seat to a woman.
“Oh, I just witnessed something amazing, and this is part of Indonesian culture. This young man sitting here, when this woman came, immediately stood up for her; what an experience. Eye opening!”
As an American Youtuber, he also uses the video to critique the development of public transportation/infrastructure in NYC. That Evan Guy’s video has been the talk of the town, not only among Jakartans but also among international audiences.
