Idul Fitri exodus expected to reach peak levels today
Idul Fitri exodus expected to reach peak levels today
JAKARTA (JP): The number of travelers leaving the city to celebrate next week's Idul Fitri in their hometowns in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan is estimated to reach its peak today and tomorrow.
By late afternoon yesterday, holidaymakers at several main bus terminals and railway stations in the greater Jakarta area were estimated at below 100,000.
The number is expected to increase in the next few days.
Homeward bound travelers at the Soekarno-Hatta international airport were still recorded at the normal rate yesterday.
No information has been compiled from the Tanjung Priok seaport.
Bus crews contacted yesterday by The Jakarta Post, at some of the city's terminals, said that the peak for the annual Idul Fitri exodus of bus passengers will be recorded late in the evening today and tomorrow.
After a meeting with his officers yesterday, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto estimated that the number of train passengers will also peak during the next two days.
Rachman, 32, a bus crewman at the Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in East Jakarta said: "There will be a sea of people here today and Sunday, especially at about 8 p.m.."
The annual event can also be seen at other main and additional terminals in and around the city, other drivers said.
"Many travelers like to take the evening routes because they can arrive at their points of destinations in the morning hours," Saragih, 40, a bus driver at the Cikokol terminal in Tangerang said.
This year's exodus might be much higher than those recorded in previous years due "to the 11 percent increase in the number of vehicles," National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro told reporters last night.
The number of Idul Fitri travelers using land transportation this year is estimated to reach two million. It was recorded at 1.49 million last year and 1.12 million in 1993.
Thousands of others are expected to use airplanes and ships.
The city authorities along with transportation companies have prepared a total of 7,000 buses and thousands of additional seats on trains and airplanes for this year's Idul Fitri break.
In a bid to help facilitate the traffic flow of the annual exodus heading out of Jakarta, city traffic police, in cooperation with other officers from related institutions, and nearby provinces have carried out the annual operation, code named Ketupat Operation.
According to the head of National Traffic Police, Brig. Gen. Sumarsono, the operation is aimed purely at helping travelers to reach their points of destination as soon as possible.
"I have instructed all my people in charge that there will be no raids or check-up operations against motorists during the Idul Fitri period," Sumarsono told reporters Thursday evening.
Included in facilities prepared by the authorities, state firms and companies helping sponsor for facilitating the annual exodus are free brochures on traveling safely.
The military and police, along with the ministry of transportation office, have already waged war against ticket scalpers.
Some roads and highways, such as the Jagorawi toll road, will be temporarily closed if they are filled with too many vehicles. Vehicles will be diverted to alternative routes.
The metropolitan city looks like a ghost city during Idul Fitri with only a few vehicles seen on main roads. During those days another serious problem occurs: shortage of public transportation in the city.
Many bus drivers also take their Idul Fitri holidays to their kampongs while a great number of public buses are temporarily used to help transport the huge numbers of travelers out of the city.
Yesterday the city recorded a significant increase in the number of vehicles passing along main roads. Traffic jams occurred in many parts of the city, lasting from the morning hours until late in the afternoon. (bsr)