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)