Millions begin joining annual exodus<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The ritual exodus of people heading to their
\nhometowns for next week's Idul Fitri holiday kicked off on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
A number of roads connecting Jakarta to destinations in Java
\nwere flooded with private vehicles and public buses, while major
\nintercity bus terminals and railway stations began to wilt under
\nthe heat of crowds of travelers loaded down with bags of all
\nsizes and descriptions.<\/p>\n
Similar scenes played out at strategic points in cities across
\nthe country, such the ferry terminal in Batam and bus terminals
\nin the West Java capital of Bandung.<\/p>\n
Late in the evening on Monday, bus passengers traveling from
\nJakarta to cities in Java had been stuck in heavy traffic since
\nleaving the capital.<\/p>\n
A passenger on a Giri Indah bus plying the Jakarta-Surakarta
\nroute told The Jakarta Post from Cikampek, some 70 kilometers
\nsoutheast of Jakarta, the bus only arrived in the area at 8 p.m.
\nafter departing from Bintaro, South Jakarta, at midday. He said
\nthe toll roads and streets were choked with vehicles.<\/p>\n
At 5:30 p.m., a Cirebon Express train collided with a Metro
\nMinibus at the Pondok Kopi crossing in East Jakarta, killing two
\npeople and injuring six others.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for state-owned PT KAI railway company, Zainal
\nAbidin, said the accident caused delays in numerous trains
\nserving passengers during the peak hours, because the single
\ntrack where the accident occurred is used by most trains serving
\nJakarta routes.<\/p>\n
\"The flow of trains returned to normal at around 7:35 p.m.,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
There were no other serious traffic accidents reported on the
\nfirst day of the annual exodus, which according to most officials
\nwill reach its peak this weekend.<\/p>\n
At Gambir railway station in Central Jakarta and several bus
\nterminals in the capital, thousands of people lined up to try and
\nsecure seats for later in the week.<\/p>\n
At the Kalideres bus terminal in West Jakarta, City Land
\nTransportation Agency official Darmo Anggriawan reported that the
\nnumber of passengers heading to destinations in Java and Sumatra
\nwas already 20 percent higher than on ordinary days.<\/p>\n
According to Darmo, the number of people leaving the station
\nas of 2 p.m. on Monday was 1,599, traveling aboard 209 buses.<\/p>\n
In Gambir, dozens of people camped out overnight so they could
\npurchase tickets when the windows opened in the morning.<\/p>\n
Many of them complained that tickets for departure dates
\nbefore Dec. 24 to a number of destinations were already sold out.<\/p>\n
\"I can only buy a ticket for Dec. 25,\" said Fajar Utama, who
\nhopes to travel to Semarang, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
An official at the train station said the number of people
\ndeparting from the train station was predicted to reach its peak
\non Saturday and Sunday, with some 24,000 passengers leaving on
\nthese days.<\/p>\n
At Tanjung Priok Port, there has been an increase in the
\nnumber of passengers traveling to their hometowns, mostly in
\nSumatra and Sulawesi, since last week.<\/p>\n
Travel by ship during the annual exodus has always been a
\ndifficult proposition because scalpers buy up most of the
\ntickets, leaving would-be passengers no choice but purchase
\ntickets from them at exorbitant prices.<\/p>\n
In a bid to help more people get to their hometowns by boat
\nthis holiday season, state-owned shipping company PT Pelni has
\nreached an agreement with the Indonesian Navy to use 27 warships
\nto transport travelers.<\/p>\n
However, most tickets for the warships were snapped up the day
\nafter they went on sale, leaving many disappointed people at the
\nPelni head office in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Most of those turned away empty-handed were angry because they
\nhad lined up since early in the morning to purchase tickets.<\/p>\n
\"I went to Tanjung Priok to see the warships yesterday and I
\nsaw a lot of them, but I cannot find a single ticket for them
\nhere. They said the tickets had been sold out for until Dec. 31,\"
\nAhmad, who is hoping to travel to Medan, said on Monday.<\/p>\n
In Bogor, the authorities have deployed some 4,000 personnel
\nfrom the police, military and related institutions, including
\nseveral sharpshooters, to provide security during the holiday
\ntravel.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure
\nErna Witoelar said most of the planned road repairs had already
\nbeen completed, particularly those in northern and southern Java.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the rain will not be as intense as predicted ... but
\nall the same travelers have to be alert for possible floods or
\nlandslides. We are crossing our fingers and hoping to God that
\neverything is OK,\" she said.<\/p>\n
In Batam, the number of people departing for Jakarta aboard
\nships provided by PT Pelni showed an increase on Monday, as
\nthousands of people raced to board the ships and claim
\ncomfortable seats. (jaw\/bsr\/dja\/edt\/21)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/millions-begin-joining-annual-exodus-1447893297",
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