City expects 1.2m exodus during Idul Fitri

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City administration predicted on Monday that some 1.2 million people would leave the city during next month of the Muslim festivity of Idul Fitri, or locally known as Lebaran.

Head of the City Transportation Agency Rustam Effendy said this year's number of exodus would increase compared to the last December's Idul Fitri which reached 900,000 people.

"Different from last year which saw two lebaran, this year will only see one Lebaran in December. If people decided to go to their hometowns during lebaran then they can only do it during the lebaran in December. That's why we predicted lebaran exodus this year will increase," Rustam told reporters at the City Hall.

He added that most people who left Jakarta for their hometowns during the first Lebaran in January, which saw an exodus of 1.1 million people, did not do it again in the second lebaran in December.

He said he cannot not predicted the number of people who would come to the city after the festivities, but expecting that it would be higher as happened in the past years. "They usually bring their relatives, mostly for seeking jobs in the city," he said.

Rustam said this year his office would prepare 6,066 buses, as compared to 5,523 buses last year, in four regular inter-city bus terminals: Kalideres in West Jakarta, Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta, Pulo Gadung and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta.

He said some bus terminals were also prepared for additional inter-city bus terminals, including in Senayan in Central Jakarta, Grogol in West Jakarta and Rawamangun in East Jakarta.

Besides the buses, Rustam said the Indonesian Navy authority had committed itself to providing navy ships for public transportation.

"We would also use trains which could transport massive people. We could use Sapu Jagat train," he added, referring to the economic class train.

Asked about an additional increase of bus fare, which is usually applied during the festivities, Rustam said his office was still waiting for the central government's decision.

But he promised, once it was decided, the bus operators should obey it or his office would revoke their permit if they violated it. "I would not hesitate to revoke their permit if they increase the fare higher than the government had decided," he said.

The bus operators earlier threatened to go on strike if the government did not increase the fare.