Do you know what I hate most when I’m sitting on the train?
When the girl beside me is putting her makeup on very dramatically and shakes the makeup brush towards me, dusting my legs with powder.
… Help, help! It’s happening again this morning! So inconsiderate! Oh no!
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*Wakes up*
Huh?
Oh, wait… such a thing never happens in real life. Only in nightmares. Phew.
But wait…
Apparently, MRT Jakarta thinks that it will happen in real life.
In fact, it expects the inconsiderate putting on of makeup to be such a serious issue that it included it in a video, featuring a series of inconsiderate behaviours discouraged on their public trains.
Such as snoring, for example.
If you’re scratching your head reading this, you’re not alone.
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Jakarta’s New Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Video
In the weeks leading up to the exciting launch of Jakarta’s new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), operator, PT MRT Jakarta has been uploading videos to broadcast to the public different messages.
Their latest one, posted 3 days ago on their Instagram page, @mrtjkt, informs passengers of appropriate and inappropriate behaviours while on the trains.
You can watch the video here:
Most of the behaviours shown make sense. For example, no eating on the trains, no talking or listening to music loudly.
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That is, etiquette guidelines we would all agree with.
But two, in particular, has criticism flying.
Snoring is Wrong, Apparently
Firstly, a man is seen sleeping with his head tilted back and snoring—something most of us have done before when we were extremely tired. This behaviour is marked with a red X.
In contrast, MRT Jakarta shows that the proper way to sleep on the train is while wearing a mask, presumably to muffle snoring noises and keeping your head down.
Critics argue that this is a little overboard, as the man sleeping with his head tilted back isn’t really a nuisance, and snoring can’t really be controlled, especially with just a face mask.
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Also, in this busy working world, I’m sure people around him would understand if he was just tired that day.
You Can’t Apply Makeup on Trains Too, It Seems
Secondly, a woman is seen putting her makeup on.
To get rid of the excess powder on the brush, she dramatically shakes it towards the man sitting next to her.
Of course, no one would want to be in that man’s position… IF such a thing even happens in real life.
Which it doesn’t.
Even if we ladies have to reapply or touch up our makeup on the train, I’m sure we would all agree that we try to be surreptitious and definitely not shake our powder onto the person beside us.
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Some also argued that instead of focusing on these insignificant things, MRT Jakarta should be encouraging people to give up their seats for the elderly or letting people alight before boarding, for example.
For Those Who Don’t Already Know: What is MRT Jakarta?
“I thought MRT was a Singapore thing?”
Well, you’re right, up until this month.
Jakarta is getting their own Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) too.
With a slogan proudly proclaiming “increasing mobility, improving life quality”, MRT Jakarta is the Indonesian government’s first big push to decrease Jakarta’s traffic congestion problems.
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William Sabandar, MRT Jakarta’s director said, “This is the moment to change Jakarta. This is the moment to make Jakarta better and free from traffic jams.”
Beginning operations this month, there will be 14 trains for daily service running from 5 am to midnight and 2 emergency trains on standby.
The trains will cover 15.7km from Lebak Bulus on the southern outskirts and the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in the downtown area.
With the new MRT, commuters can now reduce their traveling time travelling time from congested Lebak Bulus to The Central Business District (CBD) area from 90 minutes to a mere 30 minutes.
The trains are manufactured by Nippon Sharyo, a Japanese train manufacturer, and each can accommodate 1950 passengers inclusive of priority seats and spaces for wheelchairs and prams.
The trains will travel at 80km/h on elevated tracks and 100km/h on underground ones.
MRT Jakarta is launching this month (March 2019).
While we are all excited for Jakarta’s new transport developments, we just hope that we won’t get into trouble if we accidentally start snoring in one of the trains.
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Would you be jailed for being half-naked in public? Well, the answer will shock you. Seriously. Watch this to the end and you'll understand:
