Holiday makers pack bus, railway stations

Holiday makers pack bus, railway stations

JAKARTA (JP): People intending to celebrate Idul Fitri in
their hometowns have started mobbing bus terminals and train
stations.

They choose to travel to their hometowns as early as possible
to avoid being trapped in long traffic jams, which is the natural
order of the day at this time of year.

"We are afraid that we won't be able to get tickets to go home
if we delay our trip and then we won't be able to celebrate Idul
Fitri with our relatives," Nuraeni, a passenger, said.

According to city administration data, the number of people
traveling to other cities this Idul Fitri holiday is projected to
increase by 10 percent to over two million.

Antara news agency reported that from Monday night to Tuesday
afternoon thousands of passengers swarmed Pulogadung bus terminal
in East Jakarta and Senen railway station in Central Jakarta.

Many people were stranded in Pulogadung because the bus
companies did not anticipate the sharp rise in passengers.

An official of the terminal explained that, due to traffic
jams on the northern coast of Java, many buses weren't arriving
on schedule.

"Only 70 buses entered the terminal from Monday night to
Tuesday afternoon," he said.

The limited availability of vehicles made people jostle each
other when entering buses. Many boarded buses as soon as the
vehicles entered the terminal and before they were stationary.

The City Land Transportation Agency decided recently to deploy
over 7,000 buses from Feb. 24 to March 11 in a special operation
called Angkutan Lebaran 1995 (Idul Fitri Transportation) in an
effort to convey the large number of passengers.

Meanwhile, head of the Senen train station Bey Arief said the
number of people traveling by train from the station has also
increased sharply since Saturday night.

He said on Saturday 7,288 people left the city from the
station, another 12,180 people on Sunday and 9,000 on Monday.

Bey expressed confidence that the railway will be able to
accommodate all its passengers. "The state-owned railway company
Perumka has prepared three additional trains for the holiday
period," he said, adding that the number of people traveling will
peak next Sunday.

He said that in a bid to avoid a glut in the number of
passengers a few days before Idul Fitri, which falls on March 3
and 4, Perumka is offering discounts of 10-15 percent to
passengers traveling between Feb. 21 to 24 and between March 13
to 18. (yns)