Holiday makers pack bus, railway stations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People intending to celebrate Idul Fitri in
\ntheir hometowns have started mobbing bus terminals and train
\nstations.<\/p>\n
They choose to travel to their hometowns as early as possible
\nto avoid being trapped in long traffic jams, which is the natural
\norder of the day at this time of year.<\/p>\n
\"We are afraid that we won't be able to get tickets to go home
\nif we delay our trip and then we won't be able to celebrate Idul
\nFitri with our relatives,\" Nuraeni, a passenger, said.<\/p>\n
According to city administration data, the number of people
\ntraveling to other cities this Idul Fitri holiday is projected to
\nincrease by 10 percent to over two million.<\/p>\n
Antara news agency reported that from Monday night to Tuesday
\nafternoon thousands of passengers swarmed Pulogadung bus terminal
\nin East Jakarta and Senen railway station in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Many people were stranded in Pulogadung because the bus
\ncompanies did not anticipate the sharp rise in passengers.<\/p>\n
An official of the terminal explained that, due to traffic
\njams on the northern coast of Java, many buses weren't arriving
\non schedule.<\/p>\n
\"Only 70 buses entered the terminal from Monday night to
\nTuesday afternoon,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The limited availability of vehicles made people jostle each
\nother when entering buses. Many boarded buses as soon as the
\nvehicles entered the terminal and before they were stationary.<\/p>\n
The City Land Transportation Agency decided recently to deploy
\nover 7,000 buses from Feb. 24 to March 11 in a special operation
\ncalled Angkutan Lebaran 1995 (Idul Fitri Transportation) in an
\neffort to convey the large number of passengers.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, head of the Senen train station Bey Arief said the
\nnumber of people traveling by train from the station has also
\nincreased sharply since Saturday night.<\/p>\n
He said on Saturday 7,288 people left the city from the
\nstation, another 12,180 people on Sunday and 9,000 on Monday.<\/p>\n
Bey expressed confidence that the railway will be able to
\naccommodate all its passengers. \"The state-owned railway company
\nPerumka has prepared three additional trains for the holiday
\nperiod,\" he said, adding that the number of people traveling will
\npeak next Sunday.<\/p>\n
He said that in a bid to avoid a glut in the number of
\npassengers a few days before Idul Fitri, which falls on March 3
\nand 4, Perumka is offering discounts of 10-15 percent to
\npassengers traveling between Feb. 21 to 24 and between March 13
\nto 18. (yns)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/holiday-makers-pack-bus-railway-stations-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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