Exodus to reach peak on Sunday
Exodus to reach peak on Sunday
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Cirebon/Semarang
The annual Idul Fitri exodus was once in evidence in the capital
on Saturday as thousands of people left Jakarta by various means
of transportation.
Meanwhile, the death toll during this year's exodus has
already reached 17.
The massive getaway is expected to reach its peak on Sunday
and Monday.
For some lucky travelers, free trips home have been sponsored
by private sector companies and a political party.
An increase of 6,000 passengers was recorded at Pulogadung bus
terminal in East Jakarta over Friday's total of about 10,000
travelers.
Terminal director Pardjiman predicted that the exodus would
reach its peak on Sunday. However, he did not give any figures
for the estimated number of travelers.
To anticipate the increasing number of passengers, he said
that the Jakarta administration had arranged to provide more
buses as part of its contingency plan.
"We sent 502 buses off on Friday. Today, we estimate that some
600 buses will depart, provided there is no heavy rain," he said.
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency has warned that rain
could disrupt this year's exodus.
The Patrol area of West Java, which is traversed by the north
coast highway, has been the seen of 13-kilometer tailbacks due to
narrow streets and indisciplined behavior on the part of drivers
and street vendors.
A heavy downpour on Saturday worsened the situation as
motorists were forced to slow down and avoid flooded sections of
the road.
Back in Jakarta, 137 buses were dispatched from the Jakarta
Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, by instant noodle
company PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, which is transporting more
than 7,700 vendors to various destinations in West Java and
Central Java.
Many companies, including shoe and jamu (traditional herbal
medicine) producers, annually provide free transportation for
thousands of their employees and the vendors who sell their
products.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
has also followed suit, and has providing 20 buses for hundreds
of people traveling home. The buses left from party headquarters
on Jl. Lenteng Agung Raya, South Jakarta.
Some 144 other free buses will leave on Sunday from Kemayoran.
The party's secretary-general, Soetjipto, denied this was an
electioneering tactic to win support for the party in next year's
general election.
"It is part of our humanitarian mission and an attempt to ease
the government's burden in transporting holidaymakers," he
claimed.
Party donors have contributed Rp 1.4 billion (US$160,000) to
fund the free buses.
Two people were killed in a head-on collision in Subang, West
Java. The dead persons were identified as Manginar Siregar, 48,
and Budi Heryanto, 29, both of whom died instantly at the scene.
Meanwhile, a bus conductor, Suyoto, was killed when his bus
smashed into a house in Bantul, Yogyakarta.
These two accidents brought the death toll to 17 after 14
people died in two different traffic accidents in East Java and
Lampung on Friday.
Train company PT KAI has recorded a 9 percent increase in
passenger numbers compared to the same period last year, with
44,758 passengers traveling by rail last year and 48,902 this
year.
Air-conditioned executive-class trains depart from Gambir
train station while economy-class passengers must struggle to
secure a berth on the trains departing from Senen train station.
The company's Jakarta network director, Masduki Achmad, said
that PT KAI was expecting an increase in passenger numbers on
Sunday and Monday, with about 57,000 and 68,000 passengers being
carried respectively.
Merak seaport, from which ferries connecting Java and Sumatra
islands depart, saw a steep rise in passenger numbers from 50,000
on Friday to 70,000 on Saturday.