Thousands of Idul Fitri revellers stranded<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Eleven people have been killed in series of
\ntraffic accidents on Java's northern coast (Pantura) routes as
\nmotorists struggled to reach their hometowns to celebrate Idul
\nFitri.<\/p>\n
The first accident took place in Batang, Central Java, on
\nFriday morning when an Adi Mulya bus hit a truck, leaving nine
\npeople killed.<\/p>\n
Two other people were killed in other accidents yesterday.
\nDetails of the incidents have yet to be announced.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people were stranded at city
\nbus terminals as the buses scheduled to take them to their
\nhometowns in West, Central and East Java failed to return to the
\ncapital on time.<\/p>\n
The sea of frustrated families, including babies and elderly
\npeople, occurred at the bus terminals in Pulogadung, Rawamangun,
\nand Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta, the Lebak Bulus bus
\nterminal in South Jakarta, and the Senen railway station in
\nCentral Jakarta and Kota station in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Traffic congestion, especially along the Pantura roads, was
\nblamed for the delays. It had been reported earlier that sporadic
\nrepairs along the roads would affect the traffic flows.<\/p>\n
Floods in the district of Wangon, Central Java, and an
\naccident in Indramayu contributed to the traffic chaos. The road
\nfrom Pangandaran to Sidareja was also disrupted by floods.<\/p>\n
Reports said that the Cilegon-Merak traffic was totally
\nparalyzed as a two kilometer line of vehicles wanting to enter
\nthe Merak seaport worsened the congestion.<\/p>\n
A large number of people fainted after walking for more than
\n13 kilometers to beat the traffic and reach the port in an effort
\nto take the ship to Sumatra.<\/p>\n
At Pulogadung bus terminal people had to wait for hours as
\nthere were no buses to take them home. Many of them had to spend
\nthe whole day at the bus terminal for nothing.<\/p>\n
As an empty bus entered the compound people \"fought\" to get
\non. The strongest while the old and weak just sat helplessly,
\nforced to wait for another bus.<\/p>\n
\"No way. I must go home to Tegal today,\" Pariyem replied to
\nThe Jakarta Post's question if she could postpone her trip.<\/p>\n
She was among those who had spent the whole day at the
\nterminal.<\/p>\n
Chaos among travelers was used by pickpockets operating in the
\nbus terminal. Halima, who runs a rice stall in Ragunan, South
\nJakarta, cried aloud at the terminal after she lost the Rp
\n450,000 she put in her purse, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Only 79 buses and 5,632 passengers departed from Pulogadung
\nfrom 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The number of buses provided was
\ndramatically lower than the previous day's figure of around 200
\nbuses in the same time.<\/p>\n
A total of 45,344 bus passengers left the terminal on
\nWednesday, 49,855 on Thursday and 60,000 on Friday.<\/p>\n
More than 150 buses belonging to the state-owned bus company
\nPPD had not returned to Jakarta terminals as scheduled yesterday
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
About 60 buses have been repaired in Madura, East Java. Dozens
\nof others were reportedly caught in traffic jams.<\/p>\n
The South Jakarta's Lebak Bulus bus terminal was just as busy
\nwith thousands of desperate people waiting for buses bound for
\nCentral and East Java.<\/p>\n
\"I have to cancel my trip. I've been here since 9:00 a.m to
\nget tickets for my wife and I, but failed. Those with tickets in
\nhands are also frustrated as the buses have not arrived yet,\"
\nToto, who wanted to go home to Mojokerto, East Java, with his
\nwife, said. He decided to go to Gambir railway station to get the
\n11 o'clock train to Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said when
\nvisiting the Lebak Bulus bus terminal on Saturday that the number
\nof travelers in the terminal was 40% more than last year.<\/p>\n
Similar scenes were also witnessed at the Rawamangun and
\nKampung Rambutan bus terminals.<\/p>\n
Head of the Rawamangun bus terminal, B.A Simatupang, told The
\nJakarta Post yesterday that the number of buses scheduled to
\nserve passengers at the station had been doubled for this year's
\nIdul Fitri exodus.<\/p>\n
Due to the lack of buses however, the terminal yesterday only
\ndispatched around 1,500 passengers in the 50 available buses,
\ncompared to the previous day's total of 3,176 passengers in 109
\nbuses, Simatupang said.<\/p>\n
The shortage of buses prompted many travelers to flock to the
\nrailway stations.<\/p>\n
A total of 170,000 people were at the city's railway stations
\nyesterday afternoon. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thousands-of-idul-fitri-revellers-stranded-1447893297",
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