Travelers stranded at bus, railway stations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of Idul Fitri travelers were stranded
\nat bus terminals and railway stations in the city yesterday
\nafternoon due to the late arrival of transport.<\/p>\n
Crowds were found at Kampung Rambutan, Pulogadung, Pasar
\nMinggu and Grogol bus terminals and the Gambir, Senen and
\nJatinegara railway stations.<\/p>\n
The masses at the terminals lessened gradually by late in the
\nevening thanks to the remarkable cooperation among on-duty
\nofficers to help facilitate the flow of buses returning to
\nJakarta after dropping their passengers.<\/p>\n
Many of the buses arrived at the terminals far behind schedule
\ndue to traffic congestion on the roads heading towards Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Among the causes of the traffic jams was the incorrect parking
\nand crossing of roads and intersections by motorcycles, pedicabs
\nand livestock at many small towns in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Land Transportation Director General Soejono, who monitored
\nthe Idul Fitri routes via helicopter yesterday, asked the
\nofficers to help overcome the traffic congestion.<\/p>\n
\"Put the public interest first,\" Soejono instructed.<\/p>\n
The huge number of Idul Fitri holiday makers stranded at the
\nrailway stations was mainly caused by the behavior of the
\npassengers themselves.<\/p>\n
At the Senen station in Central Jakarta, for instance, many of
\nthem rushed quickly to a train which had just arrived, leaving
\nthe horde of passengers wanting to disembark no room to do so.<\/p>\n
\"In such a condition, there's only one rule here: first come,
\nfirst seated,\" said a young female employee heading to Surabaya,
\nEast Java.<\/p>\n
\"It's not an easy job to handle such a lot of low-educated
\npeople,\" an officer of the station told The Jakarta Post. \"They
\nnever obey our rules.\"<\/p>\n
Declining<\/p>\n
By yesterday evening, the overall number of Idul Fitri
\ntravelers heading to their hometowns in Java and Sumatra was
\nslightly lower than those recorded in the past two days.<\/p>\n
However, the annual exodus, particularly of bus and train
\npassengers, would increase further tomorrow and Thursday, the
\nlast days before Idul Fitri, which falls on March 3 and 4.<\/p>\n
Seats for trains leaving form the Kota railway station in West
\nJakarta, for example, have already been fully booked. But dozens
\nof scalpers were found at the station yesterday approaching
\ntravelers and offering tickets with fares almost double the usual
\nrate.<\/p>\n
The overall flow of traffic heading from Jakarta to the
\neastern parts of Java and several parts of Sumatra yesterday was
\nslightly lower.<\/p>\n
A number of traffic jams were recorded in a number of areas
\nbut were resolved quickly by diverting the traffic to alternative
\nroutes.<\/p>\n
In a related development yesterday, the Tanjung Priok seaport
\nrecorded around 1,500 Idul Fitri travelers to Sulawesi and
\nKalimantan destinations.<\/p>\n
Some of them rushed immediately to the state-owned MV Umsini
\nliner, which has a capacity of 1,700 passengers, without waiting
\nfor the Jakarta bound passengers to disembark.<\/p>\n
\"I had a bad experience last year when I followed the officers
\nadvise to be patient,\" recalled Sjarifuddin, 41.<\/p>\n
His berth in an eight-berth cabin, was taken by another
\npassenger. Sjarifuddin's right to the cabin was refused despite
\nhim holding the ticket.<\/p>\n
The vessel crew could only do nothing, he said.<\/p>\n
\"That's why I have to struggle to get my right this time,\" he
\nsaid. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/travelers-stranded-at-bus-railway-stations-1447893297",
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