What are the Positive Impacts of the Whoosh High-Speed Rail According to Residents? Here are the Survey Results.

Based on a survey by the Kurious-Katadata Insight Center (KIC), 1,323 out of 1,504 respondents (87.9%) believe and strongly believe that the Whoosh High-Speed Rail can improve intercity connectivity in Indonesia.

Of these respondents, a majority or 64% believe that the Whoosh High-Speed Rail has a positive impact due to increased accessibility and ease of intercity travel, as well as positive effects on tourism.

Furthermore, 55.9% of respondents believe that the Whoosh High-Speed Rail can significantly improve intercity connectivity in Indonesia. Then, 50.6% of respondents believe that this mode of transportation can improve intercity population mobility.

Additionally, 44.4% of respondents stated that the Whoosh High-Speed Rail can accelerate economic growth in connected cities. Meanwhile, 18.5% of respondents believe that the Chinese-made train can support the exchange of culture and ideas between cities in Indonesia. The remaining 0.2% of respondents cited other positive impacts.

The Whoosh High-Speed Rail, or PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), officially commenced commercial operations on October 17, 2023. Recently, the train has recorded 718,597 passengers as of December 8, 2023.

This Kurious-KIC survey involved 1,323 out of a total of 1,504 respondents with a distribution representing the demographic population in Indonesia, consisting of 59.90% female respondents and 43.1% male respondents.

The majority (63.1%) of respondents were from Java Island (excluding Jakarta), followed by respondents from DKI Jakarta (16.5%), and Sumatra Island (13%). Meanwhile, the proportion of respondents from Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, and Maluku-Papua ranged from 0.2% to 3.7%.

Data collection was conducted from November 6-9, 2023, using the computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) method, with a margin of error of approximately 2.5% and a 95% confidence level.

Respondents could select more than one answer to the survey questions (multiple answers).