A lot of public transportation in Indonesia (and elsewhere) regularly operates at a loss and would be unprofitable without subsidies. A lot of public transportation operates at a loss, and there are defensible reasons for that, especially if we consider it to be a public good or service. The main thing (aside from the scale and cost) that makes Whoosh different is the involvement of Chinese companies and debt. The other big issue with Whoosh is the amount of debt incurred to build it, and who the main creditor is. As of 2024, even with additional debt and losses from Whoosh, KAI had assets totaling $5.8 billion and over $2 billion in equity.