Bus, railway stations crammed as holiday nears

Bus, railway stations crammed as holiday nears

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta/Cirebon/Yogyakarta

With just three full days before the kick off of Idul Fitri
celebrations on Nov. 25, thousands of migrants living in Jakarta
began to overstretch the limits of the airport, seaports, bus
terminals and train stations, not to mention the main highways
leading out of town to Central Java and East Java, as they rushed
to get back to their hometowns in time for the holidays.

The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport assisted a total of
41,262 passengers in getting away from the overcrowded capital on
Friday, a 24 percent increase over the same time last year.

Three airlines, Garuda, Batavia Air and Merpati, have
scheduled additional flights to certain destinations outside
Java.

The rising number of passengers was triggered by the low price
of air tickets which is only slightly higher than most land
transportation.

An airport officer, Hutabarat, said on Friday that there were
no major problems with the increase of passengers.

At Pulogadung bus terminal in East Jakarta, some 10,556
passengers departed on 203 buses mostly destined for a variety of
towns in Central Java.

"The number of passengers and buses increased compared to
yesterday. But there's no need yet for additional buses," said
Pardjiman, head of the bus terminal.

He said that the peak would be on Saturday.

Last year, the terminal had its peak five days before the Idul
Fitri when 29,965 passengers departed on 616 buses.

A high jump in passenger numbers also occurred at Lebak Bulus
bus terminal in South Jakarta and Gambir train station in Central
Jakarta.

The bus terminal dispatched around 11,000 homeward bound
passengers on 275 buses, leaving for Yogyakarta, Purwokerto and
Surakarta in Central Java. That is a 10 percent increase from
Thursday.

Head of Gambir train station, Besar Susmiarto, said the
station saw over 15,000 passengers depart on Friday. The figure
was a 20 percent increase over the same period last year.

However, the increasing passenger numbers also meant similar
increases in the number of crimes committed.

Nur Aliyah, who tried to get into a bus heading for her
village of Pekalongan, Central Java, at the Kampung Rambutan bus
terminal, reported to police that she had Rp 300,000 (US$35) in
cash stolen.

Police there, responded by saying they would not deploy more
personnel although three other people filed reports that they had
been drugged by strangers who took their money and belongings.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar and Jakarta Police
chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara monitored the situation at
bus terminals and train stations from a helicopter. Police would
also monitor city roads and toll roads heading outside Jakarta
during the annual exodus.

The Directorate General of Land Transportation also told
all cargo trucks and vans to take a detour from Java's northern
highway to the southern coastal highway.

Trucks carrying construction materials, trailers and
containers are restricted from operation until Nov. 25 except
those transporting fuel, basic commodities and postal cargo.

In Indramayu, West Java, thousands of vehicles were stranded
in a 20-kilometer long logjam. It began to get congested on
Thursday at 9 a.m. as many vendors occupied one of the two lanes
in front of a makeshift market.

Indramayu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Johni Soeroto said that
the massive traffic jam was still normal.

"We are trying hard to minimize the congestion," he said.

Spokesman for state-run toll operator PT Jasa Marga in
Palikanci toll road in Cirebon, Fauziah, said that the number of
vehicles had been increasing since Thursday.

"Usually between 7,000 and 10,000 vehicles pass this toll road
every day. Starting yesterday, the number jumped to 15,000. We
expect around 30,000 vehicles will pass on Sunday and another
40,000 on Monday," she said.

In Yogyakarta, the number of train and bus passengers has
increased by 30 percent.

PT KAI's Yogyakarta spokesman, Purnomo, said that less than
200 passengers stopped at Wates or Kulonprogo station but the
number had doubled.

While in Umbulharjo bus terminal, the number of passengers
reached 22,169 people, an increase from Thursday's 20,412, said
head of the terminal Asung Waluyo.